Nadine Goepfert creates abstract artworks by vacuum-packing everyday garments

Nadine Goepfert is a Berlin-based textile designer whose refined pieces are closer to gallery artworks than the clothes we wear day to day. With a portfolio of work steeped in “research and conceptual thinking”, her pieces explore “the wide field of eventualities by creating open situations, which form the basis for textile designs and art installations”.

Permanent Compression is a series of work by Nadine which provides the viewer with a contemporary perspective on materials, vacuum packing her garments in a glossy plastic coating. A viewer is able to resonate with which material is presented from the memory of wearing it themselves, but when placed inside a gallery environment they are unable to touch the familiar fabric.

She explains: “With an eye on detail and an interest in traditional textile techniques and craftsmanship, [I] constantly experiment with the diverse aspects of the materiality and structure of textiles.” When placed in an exhibition environment Nadine’s work “investigates the left behind garment in absence of the wearer”.

“The vacuum bags, a common way of storage, used to compress garments, make them seem like an abstract painting.”