Boylan students honor late alum and fashion icon Virgil Abloh with special art exhibit

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — In his charcoal portrait of late fashion icon Virgil Abloh, student artist Roman Gorsline added a pop of color with a red hot air balloon that flew over Miami during a tribute show in 2021 that unveiled Abloh’s final collection.

The styled letters LV on the balloon are immediately recognizable as the brand Louis Vuitton to any fans of high fashion, but Gorsline learned from his teacher Missy Minardi that those letters came to mean something different for Abloh’s parents, Eunice and Nee.

“It was the balloon at his last fashion show,” said Gorsline, a 17-year-old senior at Boylan Catholic High School. “So his parents take that as Love Virgil.”

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This week, Gorsline and other students from Boylan are showing their own love for Virgil Abloh through an art show that honors the legacy of one of the school’s most famous alumni.

Abloh, a Rockford native and 1998 graduate of Boylan, went on to become one of the world’s most influential fashion designers with celebrated collections for Louis Vuitton and Nike, as well as his own brand Off-White.

On Wednesday, work from about 50 Boylan students will be on display at the school during a public art exhibit to celebrate Abloh, who died Nov. 28, 2021, from cancer. The exhibit also features memorabilia and artifacts from Abloh’s time as a high school student.

“The main mission of Wednesday is to honor him. That is hands down what it’s about,” said Minardi, chairperson of the school’s fine arts department. “To celebrate him and to show his family that we’ll never forget him.”

Students created a variety of works, some that drew inspiration for Abloh’s signature style, others that capture him in portrait or picture in a variety of mediums.

There’s photography, ink on paper, charcoal, pastel, oil painting, digital creations and other work.

“Everybody’s piece here really is empowering and it shows that we can create an image together,” said Trinity McKenzie, a 16-year-old junior.

McKenzie created a silhouetted image from watercolor, tech pen and marker of Abloh hugging Kanye West, who Abloh had worked with as the rapper’s creative director.

“He very much inspired me to do what I want to pursue when I get older,” McKenzie said of Abloh. “I look up to him a lot. His motivation was very inspiring.”

Molly McCulloh, an 18-year-old senior, said she tried to create something that both resembled something Abloh would do and what he would appreciate.

Her design covered a skateboard deck with a neon dip paint portrait of Abloh and a collage that includes some of his recognizable quotes such as “life is so short you can’t waste even a day subscribing to what someone thinks you can do versus knowing what you can do.”

McCulloh said she choose quotes that showed a mix of Abloh’s kindness and his ability to inspire. The skateboard was intended to reflect his passions beyond fashion.

She said Abloh is a perfect representation of the school’s motto “saint, scholar, champion.”

“I want (people) to see this and realize that he is more than just a fashion designer and see more of who he was as a person, and how he was kind-hearted,” McCulloh said.

Abloh was the first African-American artistic director for Louis Vuitton in 2018, and that year he was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.

Crystal Ayala, 16, a junior at Boylan, said Abloh is proof that you can come from a town Rockford’s size and still make a big imprint on the world.

“He inspired many people, especially people here in the art exhibit,” said Ayala, who created an oil pastel painting of a skateboard with 1990s-style colors and graphics. “I hope that people who walk through also feel inspired as well.”

Elizabeth Wolf, a first-year visual arts teacher who was two grades behind Abloh at Boylan, said students were immediately inspired after seeing a presentation and video announcing the show themed after Abloh.

“I came back to my room and my students straight away — sketchbooks out — it was a like a perfect vision of art school,” she said. “Almost all of them had an idea by the end of class. … They were truly inspired. ”

Abloh earned degrees in civil engineering and architecture before entering the world of fashion and design.

That background, Minardi said, blurs the boundary of what art can be and it shows students that they don’t need to set a linear career path in order to be successful.

She said because of that, and because of Abloh’s boundary-pushing designs, students weren’t afraid to take their own risks for this show.

“His artwork and philosophy pushed them, and they weren’t afraid to say I’m going to try something different with this or I’m going to go big, or I’m going to try something non-tradition,” she said.

Minardi also has her own mural on display at the show, which she created in collaboration with Abloh’s family to ensure it was representative of him. His parents will get a private viewing of the show Tuesday.

That mural, displayed on a large canvas at the show, will eventually be hung on the school grounds.

“Art is a way to leave an imprint,” Minardi said. “After class is over, after you leave Boylan, after time passes, art remains forever.

“Just like Virgil’s art still remains and we’re still inspired by it, he lives on. So I feel like through the mural, through the show, we’re helping him live on, too, and leaving this imprint of what he means to Boylan.”

If you go | Virgil Abloh Art Exhibition

What: A student art exhibit honoring the life of Virgil Abloh will have its opening celebration. The exhibit also features memorabilia and artifacts from Abloh’s time as a high school student and as part of its alumni.

When: 3:05 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30

Where: Boylan Catholic High School, 4000 Saint Francis Drive, Rockford

Open house

What: Boylan will host an open house Sunday designed for incoming freshmen and transfer students to discover the opportunities Boylan offers. It’s also a second chance for people to see the art exhibit if they missed Wednesday’s event.

When: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas