50 Fascinating Paintings By This Artist That Explore The Identity Hidden In What We Wear

Clothing can reveal an extraordinary amount about a person without showing the person at all. A favorite jumper, a carefully chosen jacket, or a slogan T-shirt can hint at taste, status, memories, desires, and even the kind of image someone wants to project. London-based artist Hannah Knox takes that idea literally, painting garments without their wearers and turning familiar pieces of clothing into intimate portraits of the people who might have chosen them.

Working primarily in oil on linen, Knox meticulously recreates collars, zips, folds, fur, knits, and other tactile details until the paintings appear almost three-dimensional. Yet these aren't simply exercises in photorealistic technique. Her empty garments become stand-ins for absent bodies, carrying associations with identity, class, fashion, memory, and desire. Drawing on her childhood surrounded by her fashion-designer mother's clothes and her own fascination with fabric, the artist creates what she calls “portraits without people,” paintings in which a single garment can suggest an entire life. 

More info: Instagram | hannahknox.com