Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Lucienne Day

Lucienne Day (1917-2010) was a British textile designer whose vibrant and innovative work changed the industry.

Her designs, which were used for fabric, carpet, wallpaper and ceramics, were inspired by the modern art of Wassily Kandinsky, Joan MirĂ³ and Alexander Calder, as well as by geometric forms and nature. Her Calyx pattern was launched at the 1951 Festival of Britain and helped launch her career. It was given the International Design Award of the American Institute of Decorators.

Day is known for her ability to combine the traditional British love of nature...as seen in the works of William Morris or John Ruskin, for example...and express that in abstract design.

When interest in 20th century design reemerged in the 1990s, she and her husband of almost 70 years Robin Day, the famed furniture designer, became mentors to young designers.

In Jonathan Glancey's farewell to Lucienne Day at the time of her death in January of this year, he described the woman and her work:

Lucienne had a wonderful way of looking severe, and then breaking into a warm smile and happy conversation. I suppose her best fabrics – and that's pretty much all of them – are a bit like that: disciplined, intelligent, diligently researched, but also warm, playful, colourful and delightful too.

From theguardian.com and classictextiles.com


Calyx
dioramarama.com

Dandelion
patchworkunderground.com

Helix
designmuseum.com

Apollo
dwell.com

Herb Anthony
artessen.com

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