Josef Frank at The Fashion and Textile Museum

January 30, 2017

Dixieland 1943-45 designed in New York for Svenskt Tenn

I managed to pop in to the preview the long awaited retrospective of Josef Frank at The Fashion and Textile Museum last Friday.

Josef Frank: Patterns-Furniture-Painting celebrates the work of the Austrian architect & designer (1885 -1967), whose textile designs I’ve been in love with since I first studied art. Alongside the patterns, the exhibition also highlights a little known aspect of Frank’s artistic career. When he stopped designing textiles at the beginning of the 1950’s, he took up watercolour painting.

Watercolour painting

Focusing on still lifes, landscapes and city scenes with fantasy houses, the paintings would remain largely unknown outside Frank’s circle of friends and family. Apparently there are over 400 paintings and the exhibition explores these newly discovered works and places them in the context of Frank’s pattern designing. Painting made him happy.

Room – depicting Fran’s signature style

I only managed to skim through for 20 minutes so can’t wait to re-visit and get my teeth into the depth of this magnificently curated exhibition. I hope you’ll decide to go and visit, you won’t be disappointed.

Terrazzo 1943-45 designed in New York for Svenskt Tenn