Saugatuck Center For The Arts Opens 'Textile Play: The Magnificient Eye Of Alexander Girard' Exhibit

In Michigan, the Saugatuck Center for the Arts opens an exhibit entitled, "Textile Play: The Magnificent Eye of Alexander Girard". It was sponsored by The Herman Miller Cares Foundation, Claudia & John Berry, Michigan Council for Arts & Cultural Affairs.

According to Design Museum, Alexander Girard was remembered as one of the most influential textile designer and interior architect of the 20th century. He was born in New York and was raised in Florence; he took education in Europe as an architect and polished his expertise in both Florence and New York.

He really likes bright colors and abstract forms, his textile designs range from brightly colored, floral elements to monochromatic patterns. Girard always contained a playful element which came from his travels through Mexico, India, Egypt and other countries. 

Seemingly simple stripes, circles, and triangles became wonderful patterns and their influence is still felt today. He also curated exhibits like "For Modern Living" which celebrated postwar modernism but his reputation became well-known when the La Fonda del Sol restaurant's interior design captivated the public in 1959.

Hee designed every detail from the interior, graphics, place settings to staff uniforms, he also designed the Braniff International Airways in the mid-1960s according to Saugatuck Center For The Arts. On his 20 years, he created over 300 textile designs in multitudes of colorways, wallpapers, prints, furniture, and objects.

He continued to work with Herman Miller to 1973 and contained spicing up the Action Office system with a series of decorative panel fabrics. This exhibition features Girard textiles, furniture, and books from Herman Miller's archives and private collections.

The pieces together with stories about Girard's design process, celebrate his vision for using everyday shapes and objects, strong colors, and elements from pop art and folk art to create a rich, playful world that continues to be his lasting legacy. 

TagsSaugatuck Michigan, Saugatuck Center Arts, Textile Play, Magnificient Eye Of Alexander Girard, Alexander Girard, Herman Miller Cares Foundation, Claudia & John Berry