‘European Textile Design, 1790–1970’

 At London’s Francesca Galloway

‘Neo-Classicism To Pop’ Part I Opens June 6

1 1/2  cols each

Neil Bradburn for Heal & Sons (British), “Elephants,” 1976, screen printed cotton.

Raoul Dufy for Bianchini Ferier (French), “Neptune,” circa 1920, Les Toiles de Tournon range, block printed cotton linen.

MUST RUN 5-18

FRANCESCA GALLOWAY NEO-CLASSICISM TO POP w/2 cuts

ak/gs set 5-8 #699196

LONDON — “Neo-Classicism to Pop: European Textile Design 1790–1970” is a two-part exhibition of more than 200 European textiles collected over a 20-year period by Francesca Galloway, a major dealer in the field. The textiles have been chosen not only for their beauty and elegance but also for their relevance to the history of textile design. The first exhibition, devoted to Twentieth Century textiles, will be shown in Galloway’s new gallery at 31 Dover Street from Wednesday, June 6, to Saturday, July 14.

This exhibition will present a rotating selection from 100-plus furnishing textiles and designs that will range from a spectacular printed hanging designed by the Wiener Werkstätte artist Dagobert Peche between 1911 and 1918, to a series of four dramatic woven, silk and metal wall coverings, “Les Colombes,” designed by Henri Stephany for the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes. The Art Deco period is well represented by the works of Raoul Dufy, Alberto Lorenzi, Robert Bonfils, Alfred Latour, Emile Alain Seguy and Paul Dumas.

Although the majority of pre-Second World War textiles are of French origin, the exhibition also includes some rare British furnishing fabrics from the 1930s. During this period, Britain attracted talented European designers, such as Jacqueline Groag and Marian Mahler who had trained with Josef Hoffmann at the Vienna Kunstgewerbeschule. They became highly influential in creating a new look that took hold of Britain after the austerities of the Second World War.

Two great textiles from the 1950s bridge the gap between the spirit and elegance of the interwar period and the new contemporary look of the 1950s. Britain maintained its preeminent position in textile design throughout the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s. This was because firms like Edinburgh Weavers, Heal & Sons and Hull Traders and museums such as the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester (the center of the British textile industry) worked hard at integrating and promoting great design, often by well-known artists, with industry. Among the artists who worked with Edinburgh Weavers were Mario Marini, Victor Vasarely and Alan Reynolds.

Britain was not alone in applying art to industry, however. An elegant example of Op Art is the work of the German artist Wolf Bauer, whose 1969–70 designs for one of the leading American manufacturers, Knoll Textiles, is a highlight of the exhibition.

Part II of “Neo-Classicism to Pop” will concentrate on late Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century textiles and will be staged at the gallery in September. The Nineteenth Century witnessed several exciting design movements, from the cult of the Emperor Napoleon to the revival of Islamic, neo-Gothic and neo-Renaissance designs during the affluent Second Empire and the Arts & Crafts ethos in Britain and its influence throughout Europe.

For general information, www.francescagalloway.com or 020 7499 6844.