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Preview Party: September 10, 6 - 8 pm
call 610-432-4333 ext. 29 to RSVP by September 8
Lecture: "Jack Lenore Jackson Presents," November 11,
7 pm
for tickets, call 610-432-4333 ext. 10
Jack Lenor Larsen (b. 1927) is one of the outstanding weavers
and textile innovators of the twentieth century. His work is synonymous
with contemporary twentieth-century design at a pinnacle of style
and sophistication. More than a weaver, he has constantly looked
to expand boundaries in textile design. He was an innovator in
the development of fabrics that interact with light, creating
new textile technologies that would allow him to obtain the desired
effect in fiber. He was one of the first to exploit the dramatic,
reflective quality of metal yarns in textiles for window treatments,
creating textiles that are transparent by day, opaque at night.
His early training in architectural design is evident in his love
of form and structure, in his ability to develop complex weave
structures that have inherent architectural properties. He has
been a lifelong collector, beginning when he was in his early
twenties to acquire objects that existed, as he says, “outside
the conventions I knew.” This same idea has clearly informed
Larsen's own work, which has continually succeeded in abandoning
the familiar rules and guidelines and, in the process, taking
textile design in uncharted directions.
Jack Lenor Larsen: Creator and Collector
explores Larsen as weaver, designer, technological innovator,
collector, and mentor. Featured in the exhibition are many of
his most admired fabric creations, drawn from the historic archives
of his firm and from corporate and museum collections. These extraordinary
works, landmarks in twentieth-century textile design, are accompanied
by a stunning selection of pieces in glass, ceramics, wood, fiber,
and metal, all collected by Larsen. He acquired many of these
works when the artists, like Dale Chihuly, were just beginning
their careers; others represent traditional arts from Asia, Africa,
and South America. The exhibition reveals aspects of Larsen's
creative process by juxtaposing objects from his collection with
his textile designs so that his way of seeing and developing new
ideas is illuminated.
The exhibition is organized by the Museum of Art and Design,
in New York City. Jacqueline Atkins, the Kate Fowler Merle-Smith
Curator of Textiles, is site curator for the Allentown venue.
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