Isaac Couch

Originally from Western KY, where corn is farmed and coal is mined, Isaac Couch (he/him) has brought his southern perspective to the northern city of Chicago where he lives and works. After receiving a Bachelor's degree in Merchandising Apparel and Textiles in 2019 from the University of Kentucky, he went on to earn his Masters of Design at SAIC in 2021. Following graduation, he was awarded the 2021 Luminarts Fashion Fellowship, the 2021 Fashion Council Fellowship, and the 2023–24 Arts Club of Chicago Fellowship. He has shown work with the Weinberg Newton Gallery in Chicago, the Lexington Art League back in his home state, the Comfort Station in Logan Square, and the Co-Prosperity Sphere. Currently he teaches within the Fashion Department at SAIC. Awards: Chicago Artist Coalition, Artist in Resident (2024–2026); Cliff Dwellers Artist in Resident (2024–2026); Arts Club of Chicago Fellowship (2023–2024); DCASE Individual Artist Grant (2023); Fashion Council Graduate Fellowship (2021); 3Arts Make-a-Wish Grant (2021); Luminarts Fashion Graduate Fellowship (2021). Exhibitions: UNDEAD, Epiphany Center of the Arts (2024); UNDEAD: 1st Revival, Arts Club of Chicago (2024); There are Ghosts in These Walls..., Comfort Station in Logan Square, Chicago Illinois (2023); PROVE ME WRONG vol. 1 Co-Prosperity, Chicago, Illinois (2023); HANDS DOWN, Lexington Art League, Lexington Kentucky (2022); HANDS UP, Chicago, Illinois (2021).
 

I tend to work with my hands versus my fingers as I question the traditions of both hard work and haute couture. I mirror the violence seen around us by physically tearing, burning, stapling, knotting and puncturing materials that tie back to my identity. To find myself I must destroy what I am given. Being from Western Kentucky, a place that values hard work in the traditional sense, I am drawn to explore heavy materials and ideas within a reconstructive fashion practice. I aim to rebuild an understanding of the places I live within and the identity imposed upon me.