style court

Scouting Vuillard

2016-12-30T13:06:00.003-05:00

[Nature morte au bougeoir (The Candlestick), Edouard Vuillard, circa 1900.

Oil on millboard. National Galleries Scotland. Larger view here.]

This post is a sort of test run for a new blog I might start next year. The idea is to scout textiles based on the richly patterned fabrics, rugs, and wall coverings seen in Vuillard's work. Sometimes I might do deep dive research into a particular painting and attempt to find doppelgänger textiles. But I'd also likely share picks just loosely related to what I see in his pictures.

For me, part of the appeal of The Candlestick is the juxtaposition of that rugged brown bag against the lighter feminine florals. And I'm drawn to Vuillard's use of blue and white.

While a silk damask wall covering would probably be a more fitting choice to reflect the vignette in the painting, today I'm drawn to Bennison's Wabi Sabi fabric in Bright Blue on Oyster.

With the tablecloth I'm taking even greater poetic license.

A monochromatic 19th-century Buchara suzani done in brown, olive and beige (spied over at Sarajo) in lieu of European brocade, embroidery or lace.

But another option could be Ralph Lauren's Box Elder embroidery on linen.

[Photo by Jean Pagliuso, circa 1990s, from an unidentified shelter

mag story produced by Carolyn Sollis.]

Or a cool vintage coverlet. I also realize that there looks to be a great piece of crumple-y white linen in The Candlestick not to mention rich trim on the wallpaper. Those pieces can wait for another day...

Sewing Seeds

2016-12-27T19:39:00.001-05:00

From the V & A's collection, this mid-19th-century South Indian floor cloth is rife with botanical imagery. According to the museum, the central medallion and corners include rings of flowering plants, while borders of buta, foliage, and more flowering specimens dominate the remainder of the design. Likely made in Machilipatnam, the piece is woven cotton which has been mordant-dyed, resist-dyed and painted, and glazed.

Flower Show

2016-02-07T16:15:00.000-05:00

[From Alexander McQueen's spring/summer 2016 campaign photographed by David Sims; model Natalie Westling]

Beguiled by Sarah Burton's use of florals in her spring/summer collection for Alexander McQueen?

Remaining saccharine-free, she referenced the flower-appreciating Huguenot refugees who brought to the Spitalfields area of London their masterful silk-weaving skills and bolstered the region's existing textile industry in the late 17th century.

[Watercolour on paper, design for textile by Anna Maria Garthwaite 1741. V & A collection.]

[Watercolor on paper, design for textile by Anna Maria Garthwaite 1741. V & A collection.]

Watching the runway show, I thought of another designing woman and nature lover, Anna Maria Garthwaite. Exceptional for the era in which she lived, Garthwaite forged a path for herself in the male-dominated world of 18th-century Spitalfields textiles. (Details in this past post.)

Also, over on Instagram, where I continue to share most of my fabric-related news, I put together a Spitalfields-themed collage of recommended resources. Specifics here.

Take Some Liberty

2015-09-08T15:14:00.001-04:00

[Detail: Popplyland, Liberty & Co.'s printed cotton 1890-1907, from V & A Pattern: Liberty.]

In need of a textile fix? The upcoming season offers multiple opportunities for satisfaction. Among various textile exhibitions on the horizon, one that has occupied my mind of late is Liberty in Fashion. Opening October 9 at London's Fashion and Textile Museum, this show looks at myriad printed fabrics produced by the venerable department store over the last 140 years.

In conjunction with the fall exhibition, flower magazine offered me a chance to dive into Liberty's past, research the artists and designers who've had a relationship with Liberty, and discover why florals have long held such power for the London emporium. (Above is just a peek at some sample pages from the eight-page spread and, yes, that's Françoise Hardy, middle right, in 1970 wearing a YSL Liberty print midi.)

Liberty archivist Anna Buruma and textile designer/author Martin Wood kindly took time to shed some light on Liberty Art Fabrics and the textile design studio, so many thanks to both experts. If you'd like to take a glance, the September-October issue hits newsstands this week. And over on Instagram, I'll be sharing more Liberty print history in the days ahead.

Summer Fare

2015-06-01T14:35:00.001-04:00

Throughout the summer I'll continue using Instagram and Tumblr to share book and exhibition news, as well as textile finds. But I'm quickly popping in here to further spread the word about indigo expert Jenny Balfour Paul's new book, Deeper than Indigo. Her latest project is a bit of a departure from the previous tomes on the alluring blue dye in that this book is part biography and travelogue, centered around an intrepid Victorian adventurer, Thomas Machell. Be sure to check out the publisher's slideshow of Machell's colorfully illustrated journal pages -- his impressions of India and China -- which now belong to the British Library.

[From Joss Graham: Narrow strip woven cotton, stitch resist indigo-dyed N'dop made in Cameroon, early-20th century.]

The London launch of Deeper than Indigo will take place June 2 at Joss Graham Gallery, and throughout the month indigo textiles will be on view.

If you simply enjoy seeing color of any kind painstakingly applied to cloth, take a look at the V & A's new Yuzen video.

Connecting Threads (More Frida)

2015-05-21T14:50:00.001-04:00

[Detail: Another look at the very recent collaboration between Madewell and JM Drygoods, this time with hand-embroidery by artisans from the San Vicente Coatlán community in Oaxaca.]

I'm a little envious of the Wellesley students in James Oles's Frida Kahlo seminar. After hearing him speak at the NYBG's symposium, Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera: Mexican Art in the 20th Century (the entire talk is up on the Garden's YouTube channel), I was left wanting to learn more.

[Frida Kahlo by Fritz Henle 1936]

His focus was Kahlo's cross-dressing but not the sort that initially comes to mind. While she did famously don menswear, what Dr. Oles zeroed in on was her cross-cultural cross-dressing. You know, the indigenous Tehuana garb among other things. And with sharp insights and dry humor, Oles makes the point that Kahlo certainly wasn't the first rather elite woman--or man--to take fashion inspiration from the working class. From huaraches to huipils, Oles explores a range of trad Mexican and Mexican-inspired clothes worn way, way back by non-local Cortes as well as more recently by contemporary women.

Channeling Frida

2015-05-11T16:32:00.000-04:00

[Another nod to traditional Oaxacan craft: JM Drygoods collaborated with Madewell on this limited-edition chambray shirt hand-embroidered by a team of women in San Vicente Coatlán. Just my own pick inspired by the NYBG show.]

Mexican textiles, Casa Azul (Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera's artistic lair), and Kahlo's work: all three can be explored over the next six months in the NYBG show, Frida Kahlo: Art, Garden, Life.

[Catch the preview.]

Obviously, given the venue, the show's connecting thread is Kahlo’s passion for nature but some of the special exhibition programs also speak specifically to her interest in craft. Textile Demonstrations: Female Artisans from Chipas and Oaxaca are scheduled to take place May 16–June 14 and September 11–October 12 from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. with women from Chiapas and Oaxaca on hand to share weaving and embroidery techniques. Event details here. And past Fridamania here.

Textile Scout: Yoruba Lace

2015-05-10T17:10:00.003-04:00

[Mid-19th-century indigo cotton cloth with a panel of slit weaving known as Yoraba lace from Esther Fitzgerald. Details below.]

The pairing is genius. (As good as when salt and caramel first got together.)

[Airy and light. Hannah Henderson and kids via The Glow.]

[She wears it well, too: Aurora James in an ethereal top as seen in Vogue Paris]

[Earth-bound indigo mud cloth throw at General Store.]

Although the cotton cloth at top was made by Yoruba people well over a century ago, it combines two of fashion's current faves: lacy open-work material and earthy indigo. In his book, African Textiles, John Gillow explains that Yoruba "lace" is traditionally comprised of rows of holes along the length of a stripweave and it's a bit similar to a type of openwork sometimes called "Spanish lace." But he points out that structurally the two differ. Yoruba lace has supplementary yarns, which create the very alluring little holes, and are not actually part of the plain weave ground.

More from Ellisha

2015-04-15T19:10:00.001-04:00

[Mantis Stripe]

Back in January I mentioned the fluid good looks of painter-turned-textile-designer Ellisha Alexina's handprinted fabrics. The prints I focused on then drew much inspiration from Ottoman florals but today, in anticipation of Ellisha's debut at next month's ICCF, here's a glance at some of her languid stripes.

[Alexina Stripe]

Well, one more stylized floral, too.

[Magnolia]

All of these happen to be in her indigo colorway, on hemp linen, and they are created in her Easthampton, Massachusetts studio. Ellisha, who had the opportunity to study old textiles during her days at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, offers other whisper-soft colorways as well as custom options.

Connecting Threads

2015-04-15T17:55:00.001-04:00

[Image courtesy Kufri Life]

Longing to be your own creative director and have a textile custom woven, handprinted or embroidered?

[Phoenix cotton]

Texas-based Kufri Life Fabrics offers all of the above. Founded by Mili Suleman, the company specializes in ikats and handwovens but works with artisans versed in a variety of old school Indian techniques encompassing beadwork and kantha.

[Jaali cotton]

Alternatively, if you need instant gratification, the fabric studio offers a ready-to-buy collection featuring contemporary takes on classic designs.

[Sanjana Grey, handwoven cotton stripe]

Fabric is available by the yard but in Mili's online store you'll find already-made pillows and table linens. Explore the full range here. And while we're talking about heritage-driven textiles, continue keeping tabs on the V & A's preparations for their highly anticipated show, The Fabric of India, here.

Performance

2015-04-15T12:07:00.002-04:00

[Detail: 19th-century Lakai suzani from Rippon-Boswell's Vok sale.]

[Details: 19th-century Lakai suzani on deep blue ground, also from Vok Collection.]

It's festival season, but it's also auction season.

If you've been following my textile news coverage on Instagram and Tumblr during the past month, you may have noticed quite a few suzanis coming up for sale. (Coincidentally, these antique embroideries often have a psychedelic vibe that happens to mesh well with the festival aesthetic.) One of the best performing suzanis to date is an 18th-century Uzbek piece distinguished by massive meandering vines and a palette of ochre, pink and orange with soft blues and greens.

[Details: 18th-century Uzbek suzani from Rippon-Boswell's Vok Collection sale.]

As reported by Daniel Shaffer for Hali, this embroidery just sold for more than double the auction estimate. Full story here.

A more modestly priced find is Merchant & Mills' Shallot.

Gauzy and light, with a hand-blocked motif in deep blue over an off-white criss-crossing background, it's one of many Rajasthani cottons offered by the British fabric purveyor.

Still on the Borderline

2015-03-10T13:49:00.001-04:00

[Image @Francesca Galloway]

For now the best places to find my textile finds and news are still here and here, but I'm popping in to share this stunner from Francesca Galloway: a 17th-century painted and dyed Northern Indian cotton cloth with intricately designed borders. (I do have that weakness for borders, you know.)

See Chintz in Progress here.

The Finds

2015-02-14T15:41:00.001-05:00

[1920s Indian embroidery at Joss Graham, a 2015 LARTA exhibitor.]

Just a reminder that when I'm not here, you can find noteworthy textiles here and here. But more importantly, the London Antique Rug and Textile Art Fair (LARTA) is once again going to offer an online peek at the exhibitors' wares. The Fair goes live at 6 p.m. on April 16th, if you want to mark your calendar.

Lighten Up

2015-01-22T17:36:00.001-05:00

[Via Tumblr]

Just to offer a palette cleanser (alternate spelling intentional) after the decadence of the previous post, here's a reminder of Whistler's other passion -- white. I first posted the video link over the holidays so it easily could've been overlooked but the clip is fascinating and worth a watch.

Filthy Lucre

2015-01-22T14:10:00.001-05:00

[Darren Waterston,Filthy Lucre, 2013–14. Oil, acrylic, and gold leaf on wood, aluminum, fiberglass, and ceramic, with audio and lighting components. Approximately 146 x 366 x 238 inches. Courtesy the artist and DC Moore Gallery, New York. Installation view, MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA. Photo: Amber Gray.]

Speaking of ruins, Darren Waterston’s installation Filthy Lucre, the focal point of MASS MoCA's Uncertain Beauty, remains on view there for just four more weeks but will be reappear in May at the Freer-Sackler galleries in D.C. Part homage and part parody, Waterston’s piece -- actually a complete interior -- deals with James McNeill Whistler's infamous 19th-century Peacock Room, which as we've covered in past posts, has been permanently displayed at Freer-Sackler since the 1920s. In the galleries, Waterston's work will be shown as Peacock Room REMIX, and visitors will be able to see the original room and the alternate reality in juxtaposition with one another.

[Darren Waterston, Filthy Lucre, 2013–14. Photo: John Tsantes.]

With melting blue-green paint, gilded-but-crumbling architecture, details including 250 hand-painted pots, scattered ceramic shards, and new interpretations of Whistler's own paintings, Waterston acknowledges the opulent beauty of the Victorian dining room, however in his reimagined space things have spiraled out of control. So it's a comment on the tumultuous history of the Peacock Room but it's also about decadence in general. More here.

There's also an accompanying catalogue.

Garden Delights

2015-01-21T19:40:00.001-05:00

[Photo my own]

I'd read that carnations used to have scent -- a very good scent, in fact -- but until the other day when I came across an exotic-looking bunch, I had never experienced this for myself.

[Video screengrabs via Kenilworth Castle and Elizabethan Garden]

The flowers I found were spicy but not cloying and made me wonder, in general, what gardens smelled like centuries ago.

Wild and semi-wild gardens are what I personally gravitate to, but there is a charmingly structured and recently restored Elizabethan garden at Kenilworth Castle famous for its use of scent. The castle itself has essentially remained in a state of wonderfully romantic ruin since the 17th century. Before then, though, in 1563, Elizabeth I gave the place to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester (aka the Joseph Fiennes character in the visually stunning 1998 movie, Elizabeth). Although not addressed in the film, the castle and surrounding gardens seem to have ultimately been a significant part of their relationship.

You can get a good overview of the grounds, including the Aviary, here, but this BBC program also includes an up close glimpse of the garden that will make you wish Cate Blanchett could've visited it in the 90s movie. If the time frame of the plot had been a bit different, that is. Apparently more than half a dozen historic castles were used throughout filming, but oh what the production team could have also done with Kenilworth...

Mood Indigo

2015-01-20T18:28:00.001-05:00

[Japanese, 794 - 1185. Collection of the Freer-Sackler.]

If you look closely at this late-12th-century indigo-dyed paper, you can make out fine ruled lines.

It's a sutra, or Buddhist text, related to the bodhisattva Fugen, but at first glance I was just attracted to the delicate metallic lines on the deepest blue ground and couldn't help imagining how cool it would've been back in elementary school to have silver pencils and spiral notebooks filled with sheets of indigo.

Find more on this Heian period piece, here, along with similar indigo-dyed pages.

Flower Field

2015-01-20T10:52:00.001-05:00

[Sugar camellias being made in Ron Ben-Isreal's studio. Photo by Mel Barlow.]

Maybe you've noticed that intricately crafted sugar flowers are back (think of Blake Lively's wedding cake and the past two White House holiday seasons, for which the rising culinary star, pastry chef Maggie Austin, created head-turning blooms). But these flowers aren't just back from the 90s. The Tudors' and their entourage enjoyed various forms of sugar work, too. If you're curious about the connection between sugar flowers and Britain's great country houses, or just want to learn more about today's masters of the art form, check out my story in the February issue of flower.

Usually when I'm talking about flowers and Powis Castle in Wales, I'm mentioning the bold red poppies on the 18th-century Indian chintz tent nabbed by Edward Clive, 1st Earl of Powis (it will soon travel to London for the V & A's big fall show) or I'm describing the Clive Album. However, there are loads of fresh flowers to be found at this National Trust property, including varieties kept in massive pots. Get inspired here. And learn more about the gardens in general, here.

Shimmer and Shine

2015-01-13T20:10:00.001-05:00

[Via NEUE Galerie]

Set to hit theaters in April, Woman in Gold is a multi-layered story of Holocaust refugee Maria Altmann's quest to reclaim Klimt's portraits of her aunt, most famously the first work, Adele Bloch-Bauer I from 1907. The movie deals with Nazi-seized art, and more broadly the Nazis' attempts to erase an entire culture (when taken, the portrait's original title, Adele Bloch-Bauer I, was eerily changed to Dame in Gold, obscuring Adele and her Jewish identity). While the plot centers on Altmann's legal battles, the film will likely generate even more interest in Adele -- as art patron and muse -- as well as in Klimt, his golden period, and early 20th-century Vienna.

But in the meantime, new opportunities to see Klimt's work and other examples of Klimt-era Viennese opulence are available across the U.S.

Gustav Klimt’s "Adam and Eve" opens at the MFA, Boston January 17. On loan from the Belvedere Museum in Vienna, and completed between 1917-18, this is the first piece by Klimt to go on view at the MFA. There will be a related five-week course, A Golden Age in the World of Gustav Klimt, but each session is scheduled during a weekday afternoon.

Klimt’s Adele Bloch-Bauer II, a sort of companion to the better-known portrait now owned by NEUE Galerie, was done in 1912 and is currently on loan to MoMA.

Modern Opulence in Vienna: The Wittgenstein Vitrine remains on view at the Dallas Museum of Art through October 18, 2015.

And some links from my past posts:

A 2008 video from Tate Liverpool filmed in conjunction with Gustav Klimt: Painting, Design and Modern Life in Vienna 1900, this installment of TateShots includes decorative arts and paintings.

[Screengrabs from Jona Frank's mini film]

Erica Tanov takes inspiration from Klimt, here, while curator Gemma Blackshaw talks about another woman in a luminous portrait by Klimt in this podcast.

Layers -- visual and maybe metaphorical ones, too -- feature in Saint Laurent designer Hedi Slimane's new ads with Joni Mitchell. Not only has she always created nuanced and multi-dimensional music, but, on the textile front, Mitchell has a long history of mixing interesting patterns. If you're new to this blog, last year Schuyler Samperton fortuitously shared a round-up of Joni-inspired textiles.

[From Harper's Bazaar UK, February 2015]

And with lace still coming on strong, here's a link to the earlier Love Lace post. While the exhibition left the Powerhouse Museum in 2013, the app lives on.

Now and Then

2015-01-06T10:02:00.001-05:00

[Ellisha Alexina's Piey in Indigo]

The reference to old Turkish motifs is unmistakable (at least to fans of stylized 17th- and 18th-century Ottoman florals typically found in embroideries), but Ellisha Alexina's handprinted textile designs have a fluid, dreamlike quality that makes them distinctly fresh.

[Rajah in elderberry also by Ellisha Alexina]

This looser, painterly feel makes sense because Alexina, based in Easthampton, Massachusetts, started as a painter and then became immersed in textiles at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

[Detail of embroidered cover, Istanbul, 16th/early 17th century. Textile Museum 1.22.

Acquired by George Hewitt Myers.]

Although this previously posted antique piece, above, is tighter in style and much more boldly colored than Alexina's work (softness is her hallmark), its design with serrated carnations and iconic Ottoman tulips reveals similarities. According to the Textile Museum, which by the way reopens in March, Ottomans had specific tulip standards. Almond shape was de rigueur, and the flowers were often rendered with super-long, sharp, serrated petals. Lale Devri (the Ottoman Empire's Tulip Period) ignited a craze for real tulips -- the rarer the better -- in gardens and indoor rooms, and depictions of tulips for textile designs remained very much in vogue until the flower was usurped by the rose in the late 18th and 19th centuries. For details, the mircosite for Flowers of Silk and Gold: Four Centuries of Ottoman Embroidery is still available but at a new home.

Glow Time

2014-12-31T15:18:00.001-05:00

[A previous Munro installation via Longwood Gardens]

Here's something else to look forward to in 2015: British artist Bruce Munro's installation at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, May 2 through October 3. Known for his Field of Light first shown about 10 years ago at the V & A, Munro will do multiple installations throughout the ABG but the showstopper is likely to be his Forest of Light with over 30,000 illuminated stems popping up in the Storza Woods at dusk. Seen from above on the Canopy Walk, the sight should be magical evoking a mood that's sort of Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose-goes-pared-down-industrial.

Grand Opening

2014-12-31T10:16:00.001-05:00

[Longquan ware vase, latter half of 13th century, Southern Song or Yuan dynasty. Stoneware with celadon glaze and Japanese lacquer repairs. Freer Sackler.]

The Freer Sackler is starting the new year with a bang, releasing images of 40,000 Asian artworks (the galleries' entire holdings) via a free resource called Open F|S. This means that the public will be able to access objects not on view and if interested use the images for anything ranging from massive mood boards to more scholarly pursuits -- essentially any personal or artistic project under the non-commercial umbrella.

Check out the gilded "scar" on the old vase, above. Rather than hide its imperfections, a Japanese artisan highlighted the flaws as he repaired them.

[Carrying case, 20th century. Cotton with mirror glass, open chain, buttonhole, and stem stitches; laid work. Gujarat/Kutch or Sind, India or Pakistan. Freer Sackler.]

According to the museum, slight asymmetry also figures in the design of this handbag with pakko (meaning well-done) embroidery. The unconventional approach is supposed to stave off bad fortune.

Film Festival

2014-12-30T19:07:00.003-05:00

[Screengrab from Ang Lee's Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon]

Last month I instagrammed a wish that Raise the Red Lantern (Zhang Yimou's staggeringly gorgeous but hard to find 1991 movie) would stream on Netflix or appear in iTunes. Hasn't happened yet but my fingers are still crossed; The Met's spring blockbuster, China: Through the Looking Glass -- set to open May 7, 2015, examining China as ever-enduring fashion muse -- might help build momentum. The Museum says that some of the show's "reflections" will materialize in film clips from acclaimed Chinese directors including Yimou and Ang Lee, which will complement the exhibited clothes and vignettes centered on women with presence such as Oei Huilan.

In the meantime, other easier to access textile-filled flicks include Yimou's House of Flying Daggers and Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. And The Last Emperor, subject of a past post, dovetails with the eras highlighted in The Met's upcoming show. (Actually, in one way or another all of the suggested films do, as the exhibition covers territory from the 18th century to the present, but Emperor shows more mingling of Western and Eastern fashion in the 1920s.)

[17th–18th century Chinese saddle made for the Tibetan market. The Met.]

According to The Met, this opulent saddle is not unlike styles owned by the emperor Qianlong centuries before last emperor Pu Yi came on the scene. Though I'm highlighting it here just as a nod to the horseback riding scenes in Crouching Tiger. Well worth a look, the saddles and accompanying horse blankets in the movie seem wonderfully rugged by comparison.

Less Expected Mix

2014-12-30T09:14:00.000-05:00

[Paul Gauguin, Still Life with Peonies, 1884. Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, NGA.]

With its blue-grays, muted purple-y-pinks, rusty-reds and bits of gold, Gauguin's palette here is slightly more subdued than the electric color mixes seen in his later works from the South Pacific but nonetheless rich. Although part of the NGA's collection, the painting is currently on loan for the traveling show, Bouquets: French Still-Life Painting from Chardin to Matisse, which is now at the Dallas Museum of Art but headed to the VMFA in March (at the latter the exhibition title will be Van Gogh, Manet, and Matisse: The Art of the Flower. )

But back to Gauguin's piece, his colors bleed and swirl together a little like a paisley pattern from the same era.

[Details: Kashmir Shawl, India. 1865-1875. Marla Mallett Textiles.]

The palette of either object could be a great jumping off point for an entire room.