circulating art differently
Sets to wear, transform and display
La matrice emblématique de la marque Tana Kim (un même patron décliné en un sac et une jupe trapèze) est investie par l’artiste associé Michel Clouin, puis les pièces sont confectionnée par la créatrice du concept, Nathalie Tardif.
Le diptyque peut se transformer en tableaux grâce à un protocole de transformation artistique.
Fragments are taken from the set and stretched over frames.
The offcut, what remains of the set, is also transformed: it keeps the trace of what was worn while giving the work a functional use once again.
Art is displayed and transformed in motion, in everyday life and in space.
about
Visual artist
" My work oscillates between figuration and abstraction. It evolves over time, forever seeking other translations, other ways of rendering.
Each series is a reflection, like so many bricks contributing to the construction of a perception. I paint the real to brush against the unsayable; I caress abstraction to speak of lived experience.
To speak with one voice, to paint with one hand. My work is a walk in search of viewpoints, of different ways of seeing.
Each step leads to another step, each canvas follows another canvas, one gesture, so as not to die confined. "
about
Creator of Tana Kim
« Tana associe les deux premières lettres de mon nom et de mon prénom et rappelle une aventure stylistique et artistique personnelle qui a duré 10 ans.
It began with the search for an outfit that would be functional, timeless, efficient, elegant and original, easy to combine with plain basics, and that I could make myself from furnishing fabric.
The signature template, with its clean lines, emerged as an obvious choice after I deconstructed a series of complex prototypes. An A-line skirt and an XL hobo bag met every criterion.
With this pattern, I made and wore around a hundred sets, mostly in fabrics I had found secondhand or been given. Others were made with canvases painted by visual artist Michel Clouin, or with fabrics printed from his digital paintings.
I named this experience "Ego Trip 167-40" (my measurements). It later became a collective, collaborative and artistic experience: the pattern is now offered in seven sizes, in furnishing fabric or in printed or painted artworks, with one piece per size and per fabric.
Kim, in memory of my paternal grandmother, who bore this name, of her story and of its reverberations across generations.
The single pattern symbolises this name, this mainstay, this silent legacy, these precious transmissions, so as not to forget, because the traces of history fade, distort and transform.
L’utilisation répétée du même patron interroge les histoires qui se répètent, alors que paradoxalement, chaque ensemble est unique et raconte une histoire différente, ouverte sur le monde sans pouvoir oublier des origines. »
The monogram: two letters that meet and support each other, becoming a sign, a signature.
In its construction, it draws on an Asian aesthetic of clean lines, balance and simplicity.
An echo of the name Kim, without seeking to reproduce a traditional symbol.
Simple, recognisable and timeless, it accompanies Tana Kim® pieces on the textile.
Two letters, an encounter, a graphic gesture.
a conviction made real
Painted artworks, crafted to be worn, transformed and displayed
Painted artworks, crafted to be worn, transformed and displayed
The artist's expression unfolds on the textile surface; the creator makes the set. The body of the person wearing it activates the artwork through their movements and the places they go.
They live an artistic experience and share it with those they pass and meet.
The bag and the skirt, though functional in everyday life, are more than an accessory and a garment: the experience does not stop there.
The set can be transformed into four wall artworks if the transformation protocol is activated.
This protocol, specific to each set, is co-developed by the artist and the creator.
It provides for the transformation of the offcut, which keeps the trace of its first use and gains a new function and a new surface for expression.
A series of seven sets and the concept will be unveiled at the Art Textile exhibition in November 2026 - Paris.
Visuals will soon complement the site: an image sometimes tells more than words.
