May 19, 2011

Color Moves Fashion

Courtesy of Decade Diary


I'm a firm believer that weekends should be full of all sorts of wonderful little things. In reality, my weekends tend to be a flurry of activity. It's the plight of the overextended. My perfect weekend includes catching up on the weeks unread copies of WWD and a trip to one of the city's museums. Last week was so hectic, that I was truly looking forward to indulging in a little leisure time at Cooper Hewitt's exhibit "Color Moves: Art and Fashion by Sonia Delaunay."

The Cooper Hewitt is quickly becoming one of my favorite little jewels in the city. "Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels" and "Quicktake: Rodarte" are two of my favorite recent exhibits with a focus on style. Sonia Delaunay is an artist whose work I adore. Known primarily for her work as an abstract painter and bold colorist, Sonia Delaunay applied her talents and theories on simultaneity ( the sensation of movement created when contrasting colors are placed side by side) to various mediums. 

Set of five fabric samples, Design 945 Courtesy of The Cooper Hewitt


The exhibit features rooms of fashion illustrations, gouache studies, garments, paintings and textiles. It was fascinating to see Delaunay's large scale paintings juxtaposed with smaller patterns that were designed for the Metz & Co. department store in Amsterdam in the 1930s. It was enlightening to see the imperfections in Delaunay's work and ideas transform from sketch to finished product. Textiles are currently on my mind. My closest friend at work is an extremely talented textile designer and will be leaving me on Friday to concentrate on launching her own company.


I highly recommend seeing this exhibit. It has been extended until June 19th and I have plans to see it again. I found it remarkable that many of the garments and scarves looked so relevant today. Sonia Delaunay was clearly ahead of her time.

PS- The very talented illustrator Bernadette Pascua was kind enough to allow me to use her wonderful drawing that was inspired by this exhibit. I think it captures the exhibit perfectly. Bernadette's Decade Diary is one of my favorite reads. Don't you just love her illustration?


6 comments:

  1. These both sound like inspiring exhibits! I am so fascinated by Rodarte. There was an amazing article in a recent issue of British Vouge. If you are interested, I'll scan it and send it to you!

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  2. thelinesheet- Both exhibits were so inspiring. After seeing the Rodarte exhibit, I had a greater appreciation for their work. The way their garments are constructed is fascinating. I have back issues of British Vogue that I haven't even looked at. Which issue is the article in?

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  3. Thanks for the suggestion. Perfect timing since I'm staying in NYC for the long weekend.

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  4. Emerson- Thank you for stopping by. If you're staying in the city, then I would highly recommend seeing this and the Van Cleef show. Both shows have been packed every weekend, so a weekend when people will be out of town is the opportune time to see it. I hope you enjoy!

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  5. Just saw this exhibit yesterday, It was so good. Thank you for the recommendation. PS-The garden at the Cooper Hewitt is beautiful.

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  6. Anonymous- I'm so glad you had a chance to see it. I'm glad you liked it. And yes, the garden at the Cooper Hewitt and Frick are two of my favorite spaces for solace. So beautiful.

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