Nailphilia: The First Art Exhibit on Nails

Posted by Michelle Phan on October 14, 2011

nailphilia

Hi everyone,

Bringing new meaning to “nail art,” a nail art exhibition took place in London a couple weeks ago. I was unable to attend (did any of you Londoners?), but it sounded really interesting so I did my research. Here are the deets:

“Nailphilia” was London’s First Ever Nail Art Exhibition. Put on by DegreeArt.com, it included collaborations with Nick Knight of SHOWstudio, Minx Nails (see my other post on Minx Nails here), Cheap Monday, Laruicci (they did the gold claws in Beyoncé’s “Run The World” video), and others. DegreeArt.com explains the exhibition:

“Through every medium imaginable, Nailphilia will delve into the Nail World’s most creatively established, uniting Fashion and Art to redefine everything you thought you knew about the aesthetic of the fingertip.”

nailphilia

Nail art was explored through film, print, photography, jewelry, apparel, fixtures, sculptures, and mock 3-D hands. Watch this video of the exhibit pieces—you HAVE to see them all:

It’s nice to see art of the cosmetic variety receive recognition for its artistry by the broader art community and in the media…the body really is a canvas!

Here are stills of some of the artwork:

nailphilia

So, what do you think? Do you know of any other beauty art exhibits going on or coming up? Share in the comments section below!

<3 Mish

P.S. If you want to see more from Nailphilia, Nick Knight of SHOWstudio also created a short film for the exhibit. It shows manicurist extraordinaire Marian Newman’s interpretations of the Spring/Summer 2011 collections from some of the world’s top fashion houses. It’s really well done, and the couture manicures are so intricate! You can watch it here. (Heads up—it’s super artsy)

Photos: DegreeArt.com, DegreeArt.com on Wired UK

Comments: 31

Leann Bennett
Oct 18, 2011
24

Agreed with a lot of these comments; those nails are not normal and long nails [REALLY long nails] personally gross me out, but then---wearing make-up is not "normal" either. By normal, I mean "natural". Eh?

Ligeia
Oct 18, 2011
25

Michelle got those nails (Tim Burton video) from Kawaii Nails.

Unfortunately, I don't see half of these art pieces as attractive. I'm not going to make the natural debate. The thing is, make-up, however you look at it, is an art with a practical application. Some of these nails are too long and unruly to make them worth wearing. The shorter nail pieces and the ones with prints were fun to look at though.