There’s a giant leather jacket on display in Philly

If you haven’t been to the Fabric Workshop and Museum (1214 Arch St.) lately, experiencing Ursula von Rydingsvard: The Contour of Feeling is a great opportunity to do so. One of the most influential sculptors around, Rydingsvard is best known for her cedar sculpture work, but gets into leather through a special collaboration with the Fabric Museum and Workshop.

The end result is PODERWAĆ, a giant leather jacket that stands nearly 11 feet tall, made from 193 deconstructed leather jackets. This is von Rydingsvard’s first piece in leather and is probably one of the most memorable pieces in the exhibition, especially if you’re a leather fan. 

Susan Lubowsky Talbott, Executive Director of the Fabric Workshop and Museum, gives additional background on the piece in a press release.

“The giant leather jacket entitled PODERWAĆ, which resulted from von Rydingsvard’s residency, exemplifies the unexpected outcome of an artist being given ample time and resources to experiment. The jacket took almost 900 hours of sewing; when I commented that there was something wonderfully tortured about this work, Ursula’s response was ‘good—that’s what I wanted!’”

If you’d like to get up close and personal with PODERWAĆ, the exhibition runs through August 26, 2018 at the Fabric Workshop and Museum.

There will also be a screening of a special documentary on the artist, “Ursula von Rydingsvard: Into Her Own,” at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on June 2, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

You can buy tickets for that here.