TALKING TEXTILES

Digging in the archive of the historical collection of the TextielMuseum in Tilburg, Studio Formafantasma has been drawn by the so-called Driessen collection. This has been donated by one of the members of the Driessen family to the TextielMuseum once the activity of the cotton printing company LKM (Leidsche Katoen Maatschappij) ended. The collection is composed by a large series of textile-related books, notebooks, material samples and printing experimentations collected by various generations of Driessen’s family members and colourists working for the company.

In these books fragments of textile collected around the world or tests developed within the company are mixed creating unexpected texture and combinations. Numerous are also the collected colour tests and the recipes that are testifying the transition between the use of natural pigments and the synthetic ones. In this respect the work of Felix Driessen is particularly relevant. He in fact largely investigated Turkish or madder red. The so-called Turkish red, a particularly vibrant tone of red sourced from madder roots, is one of the most researched colours in the history of textile. First developed in India and later expanded till Greece and Turkey, its bright tones have intrigued different cultures, becoming one of the first examples of globalization.

Drawing inspiration both from the Driessen collection and the history of Turkish red, Studio Formafantasma has designed a series of 17 silk textiles which are dyed with madder roots in collaboration with a German colourist.

The design of the silks features patterns from Driessen’s books and other visual elements as a reference to the history of Turkish red. Traditional design elements such as colour and texture are used as tools to both testify the work of the Driessen’s family and to evoke the symbolic, economic and social impact of the Turkish red in history: from The Roman Empire, through French Revolution till the chemical synthesis of alizarin, one of the major dyes obtainable from madder roots. The title of the project, BTMM1514, is referring to the way the Driessen collection's books are numbered.

The exhibition is on show until May 26, 2013

The Miniartextil exhibition, originated from Como in Italy and organized by Italian collectors, explores annually the infinite creativity of selected artists throughout the world. With mini-textiles of a size of 20 cm3, maxi-textile installations and lace creations, over fifty artists compete with their imagination, know-how, innovative spirit and freedom to offer the most exciting art overview of a simple thread.

The theme 'contemporary agora' was chosen for this year’s collection, showing a fresh view on the ancient Greek city. The exhibition is hosted for his single date in France, in the most beautiful setting: Le Beffroi, a new cultural center of the Paris-neighbour city of Montrouge. The exhibition will then travel to Venice.

Natural and industrial materials have created an intersection of art, design and fashion, all exhibiting the contemporary aesthetic.

Miniartextil offers a variety of textile art in all its possible forms. Miniartextil, lets the visitor enter the heart of the matter, where there are no boundaries between craft, art and design, neo-textile science and fashion. Stunning almost poetic work made with intelligence and elegance combining traditional know-how and innovative use of materials.

From fibres over weaves, whether goose feathers and epoxy resin, as in Matyna Golik’s 'Reflection' or simple paper and wire usage in Michiko Sakuma’s „Budding“. Surprising encounters, unexpected visual dialogues, exchanges and confrontations will awaken your creativity at the Miniartextil.

54 pieces, each a maximum size of 20cm3 intersect and interact with several maxi-textile pieces, which allures you into a global universe of fabrics. The vision of the artists of what surrounds them and their interpretation of the contemporary agora made Kyionori Shimada create a labyrinth of nylon fabric and Irene Anton, an “intervention invading network” with tights.

Many pieces express how the contemporary agora remains in our virtual communities, without burying the essential aspiration of the agora where once political, religious, fests and commercial matters lead a community. A modern interpretation of today’s society.

Miniartextil 9th edition, from Saturday february 2nd to 24th, 2013. Le Beffroi, 2 place Emile Cresp, 92120 Montrouge.

www.ville-montrouge.fr

"After my father’s death, I began a process of rescuing memories, searching for clues which would lead me to discover more of who he was and as a result, more of who I was. Memories of his past were carried through photographs and negatives stored in boxes. Seven years after his death, my mother followed, leaving behind her personal archive in the form of a precious collection of handmade garments.

Her legacy was embodied in the delicately stitched and embroidered clothes she created for us for the key moments in our lives: baptism, communion, weddings. But all the while, my Catholic, Argentine mother’s needle was patterning secrets, unutterable events of the past: indelible images that would eventually surface and give light to her prophetic words:  “el tiempo lo dira”, that is, ‘Time will tell.’

My father was a young Dutchman hired by the Turkish Embassy as their personal assistant first in The Hague (1934-1935), and then, for a second term, from 1936 until 1946, in Buenos Aires. Tall, blond and blue-eyed, he was my mother’s Prince Charming.  They married and together raised four daughters. They lived a charmed life as, after the war, my father transferred to the Royal Netherlands Embassy as a diplomat and rose steadily through the ranks of the Dutch Foreign Service in Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico. By the time he retired, he had accumulated a string of decorations including the prestigious Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau.

Silently however, my father suffered under the weight of an unacknowledged identity: he was Jewish. He therefore carried alone the knowledge that his parents and only brother were murdered in Auschwitz.  He had escaped the Holocaust through the good graces of the Turkish ambassador who had re-employed him for the duration of the war. However, in the anti -Semitic climate of Argentina, a revelation that he was in fact Jewish, would have burst the fairytale bubble of our existence.

My parents came from disparate worlds but they loved each other dearly. For my sisters and me, his tragic story, her inability to acknowledge his roots, and the garments she so lovingly made hold the key to our identity. Without this specific past and the repercussions it had in their lives and ours as their children, we would not be who we are today.

For this reason, I am piecing together the unspoken tale of my parents’ lives thru photographs of the garments my mother crafted, with archival and abstract images found along several journeys made in search of answers to the profound connectedness I have always felt with my Jewish ancestors.

In 2009 on a journey to Istanbul in a most unexpected way, I met the children of the Turkish ambassador, now 80 and 82 years old, (former ambassadors themselves). They had grown up knowing my father, first in The Hague and later in Buenos Aires. As they told their stories and unlocked some of the mysteries surrounding my father, I knew the time had come for me, as a visual artist to tell the story. I heard my mother’s voice: ‘El tiempo lo dira’.

In a documentary film, cinematographer Sonia Herman Dolz documents my recent meeting with the Turkish ambassador’s children who shared memories about my father during their 10-year period together.

The book that goes with the project is designed by Stephen de Smet and published by Diana Blok & Witteveen Visual Art Center. The total project is evolving into multiple layered installation combining photography, film and sound."

Time Tells by Diana Blok can be seen until november 6th in Amsterdam at:

www.galeriewitteveen.nl

Sponsors: 

Mondriaan Foundation - Amsterdam Fund for the Arts - 7 Hills Foundation - NL/Turkey 400

www.dianablok.com

Last year, three designers from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, launched the Caju Collective, a design studio based in Brooklyn, NY. Caju (kah-joo) in portuguese means cashew, a tropical, yummy, exotic, colorful fruit.

The studio’s proposal is to bring the creativity, playfulness and warmness of their culture to the NYC’s design scene. Bridging Art, Design and Fashion: the 3 of them participated in On Going, an exhibition focused on the creative process of Brazilian artists rooted in NYC, where they presented etchings, video and typographic works.Caju Collective will be releasing their first textile print design collection at Indigo/ Premiere Vision NY. Dani Moura and Patricia Bomeny met while working for La Estampa, the largest textile supplier in Brazil, where they created textile print designs for high- end and mid-market fashion brands.

In 2010, Dani decided to move to NY to attend a School of Visual Arts program. A year later, Patricia did the same. Gustavo Prado, who’s fine artist, graphic designer and Patricia’s husband, came right after her, bringing the french bulldog Pingo, the mascot of the team.

As they all live in Brooklyn, they decided to open their studio in Williamsburg, where they are able to keep their carioca’s lifestyle, going to work with bicycles and having lunch at the park.

www.cajucollective.com

Anke Domaske — a German born, biochemist and fashion designer— is the inventor of an award-winning new textile made entirely from milk. Called “Qmilch,” it drapes and folds like silk, but can be washed and dried like cotton. The fabric is also eco-friendly and a wonderful solution for people with skin allergies.

Qmilch – a combination of quality and the German word for milk – won the innovation award of Germany's Textile Research Association, which recognized it as a new, sustainable fiber that could revolutionize the clothing industry.

After two years of trial and error in a research lab, Domaske and her team of six finally created a process of reducing milk to a protein powder that is then boiled and pressed into strands that can be woven into a fabric.

According to Domaske, the strands can be spun rougher for a heavier texture, or shiny smooth, to create a soft jersey feel. She uses only organic milk that cannot be consumed because it has failed Germany's strict quality standards.

By reducing waste and our reliance on byproducts from oil, and other indispensable resources such as water, Domaske’s work promises greener fashion and a greener future.

Text by Beth Lauck.

www.qmilk.eu

At 2012's Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan, Rubelli will be showing how the design world can integrate with the decorating world in an austere installation at Spazio Rossana Orlandi. One of the galleries will be transformed into a dark vision of romantic beauty, reflecting two important trends in design: the revival of textiles for interiors and a focus on black.

As part of an ongoing collaboration, Lidewij Edelkoort has been asked to select textiles and contemporary design, upholstering the space and previewing a revival of the gothic movement. On display will be a special edition of Maarten Baas’ Smoke! armchair produced by Moooi and dressed in Rubelli’s Les Indes Galantes fabric, a chandelier by Piet Hein Eek including textile lampshades, re-upholstered modernist armchairs by Gio Ponti and Franco Albini, a Fortuny Floor Lamp re-edited by Pallucco, and a mysterious new flock of birds by Guus Kusters & Maarten Kolk. All the works feature fabrics by Armani/Casa Exclusive Textiles by Rubelli, Dominique Kieffer, Donghia and Rubelli – including Rubelli’s re-edition of original Gio Ponti designs.

Edelkoort feels that black resonates in today’s world, saying that, "Black is becoming the order of the night, the guardian of dark humour and the romantic troubadour of cynical songs. Whether dozing upon a daybed, draped against a male torso or piously kneeling on a gothic chair, it is all the more beautiful in black. The Rubelli family of brands is conscious of the newest societal trends exploring the austere and sometimes even surrealistic side of interior design… Design will embrace black and faux-black in every texture, for a black-on-black celebration of glorious gloom and doom, in an audacious and eccentric enactment of the night, where all is a majestic sombre monochrome of soft shadows lit by the full moon."

www.rubelli.com

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As part of its commitment to sharing information about creative textiles, Trend Tablet is pleased to present its selection of several exhibitions taking place in Milan during April 2012's Salone Internazionale del Mobile.

This year, designers continue to explore the tactile and inspiring use of textiles. Some highlights include:
- The Romantic Rubelli Room, Lidewij Edelkoort's selection of contemporary design using Rubelli textiles at Spazio Rossana Orlandi.

- Hair and Skin Human and Animal, Me and the Black Sheep, by Gruppo di Installazione in Ventura Lambrate.

- Rodrigo Almeida's first solo show, at Galleria d'Arte il Costello.

- Nodus presenting rugs by Studio Job, estudio Campana and Kiki van Eijk as well as 10 new vegetable colours in their Himalayan Collection by Bartoli Design.

- Kvadrat presenting new work by Bless and Katrin Greiling.

- Vitra presenting a limited edition of Hella Jongerius' Polder Sofa using Maharam textiles.

For a full envelope of invitations, click here

The new edition of Talking Textiles will take place from February 3 – April 15, 2012 at the Designhall, a new venue for presenting design in Stockholm, located opposite the Konstfack University campus.

On show will be a large selection of design that uses innovative textile techniques, heralding the revival of textiles in our interiors.Here is a focus of some artists.Stay tuned for more information very soon!

www.designhall.se

Lidewij Edelkoort is proud to announce that a new edition of Talking Textiles will take place from February 3 – April 15, 2012 at the Designhall, a new venue for presenting design in Stockholm, located opposite the Konstfack University campus. On show will be a large selection of design that uses innovative textile techniques, heralding the revival of textiles in our interiors. The exhibit is part of an initiative to discuss textiles, highlighting the importance of creativity and education at a time when the global market has put many textile mills in danger of disappearing. Lidewij explains that "Talking Textiles" will expand our perception of where textiles can take us: “After a reaction to the increasingly digital landscape of our lives, a craving for tactility and dimension has led several designers to reconsider the role of fabrics once more.

The near future will see the overwhelming return of textiles in our interiors, covering floors, walls and furniture in an expansive and personal manner. These textiles will speak loud and clear and become the fabrics of life, narrating stories, designing pattern, promoting well-being and reviving the act of weaving”.

Stay tuned for more information very soon!

www.designhall.se

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Download the press release here

"Penelope", a recent exhibition by Tatiana Blass, is a storied installation. Borrowing its name from Greek myth, "Penelope" is a tribute to the power of love and the praxis of weaving.

Built to fill the Chapel of Morumbi in São Paulo, Blass has displayed a large pedal-loom at the altar. Attached is a intricately woven, red carpet that extends to the courtyard; red, to signify both power and nobility, as recounted in Greek legend.

Blass’ installation aims to connect the internal and external worlds of belief through a web of tangled wool, yet it is unclear whether the carpet is in the process of being woven or unraveled (as goes the tale of Penelope).

On the opposite side of the loom, the threads run wildly; a matrix of red yarn envelops the exterior gardens, further confounding our perception of space and place. Merging the religious with the architectural and the enigmatic, Blass is deeply interested in “the abstract.” She conceals as much as she reveals, blending complex stories with elaborate textile creations.

www.tatianablass.com.br

When a company has a sense of purpose that goes beyond increasing its profits, that is what makes for a truly great project. Since its establishment in Barcelona (Spain)in 1983, Teixidors has been committed to generating well being for people with learning disabilities by supporting them and giving them a specialized, integrating job as manual weavers. While doing this, it has maintained the highest level of quality both in the manufacturing and the raw materials used to create their woven pieces. Those products exude a quality which can be appreciated through the sense of touch, sight and smell.The noble materials with which each piece is hand woven in the wooden looms convey a process of memory, dedication and dignity.The looms — based on the design from 19th Century models — are used to help develop coordination and psychomotor skills in people with learning difficulties.

The weavers, with their know-how, shape the products into scarves, shawls, plaids, blankets, curtains, tablecloths, towels.Only the finest materials nature can provide are used to create the range of textiles. The softness of cashmere is used to make light and sophisticated fabrics.The freshness of linen is used to create breezy textiles that promote relaxation and wellness. Elegant silk is combined with other materials to add softness and resilience. Noble Merino wool adds a rustic and warm touch. A very good example of luxury where the process and the raw materials used to make the products are environmentally and socially responsible. From Binichic.

www.binichic.com

www.teixidors.com

Milan, April 12 / 17, 2011, Edelkoort is promoting textile design talent at 2011’s Salone Internazionale del Mobile with "Talking Textiles".

In the innovative "Ventura Lambrate" area an exhibit features the work of recent graduates showcased. The installation brings the freshest European design talent to public attention and expand our perception of where textiles can take us.

On show at the prestigious "Spazio Gianfranco Ferré" in Via Pontaccio 21 is a large selection of design that uses interesting textile techniques, heralding the revival of textiles in our interiors.

This large space includes the latest textile-based work by Maarten Baas, BCXSY, BLESS, Bokja, Fernando and Humberto Campana, Nacho Carbonell, Kiki van Eijk, Ora-ïto for Stepevi, Studio Job in collaboration with the Audax Textielmuseum Tilburg,Hella Jongerius for Maharam, Claudy Jongstra, Dominique Kieffer for Rubelli, Maarten Kolk and Guus Kusters, David Lynch in collaboration with Raphael Navot, Christien Meindertsma, Ulf Moritz for Sahco, Raw Edges, Scholten & Baijings, Inga Sempé for Moustache, and Paul Smith for Maharam, among many others.

"Talking Textiles" is organised by Edelkoort Exhibitions in collaboration with Rossana Orlandi and Spazio Gianfranco Ferré, with sponsorship courtesy of Cerruti Baleri, ComON, Kvadrat, Loro Piana Interiors, Maharam and Ratti division b. Cocktails are provided by Campari. The graduate designers are supported by British Fashion Council, Mohair South Africa, Skillset, Texprint and UK Fashion & Textile .

To down load the press kit click on the links :

General information

Press Release in english and italian

Curator's statement

List of works

For images of the exhibition at "Spazio Gianfranco Ferré"

Part one "Spazio Gianfranco Ferré"

Part two "Spazio Gianfranco Ferré"

In Situ "Spazio Gianfranco Ferré" Part one

In Situ "Spazio Gianfranco Ferré" Part two

For images of the exhibition in "Ventura Lambrate"

Part one "Ventura Lambrate"

Part two "Ventura Lambrate"

In Situ "Ventura Lambrate" part one

In Situ "Ventura Lambrate" part two

In Situ "Ventura Lambrate" part three

Interested in dissecting the moment, Pallard has created a series of Domestic Disguises to interact with the interior. Longue Vue is a lamp design that allows the user to encapsulate light,seeing cosmic light planes when looking into it, and doubling as a

vantage point from which to spy.  These ghost-like, ephemeral silhouettes envelop us like a chadoor, veiling away the world so we can concentrate and contemplate.

(France) Design Academy Eindhoven, the Netherlands

The maturing of young men is an important part of Xhosa culture; marked by traditional events to which boys commonly wear geometric knitwear in styles imported from the West.  Determined to create a series of motifs that would better reflect his true identity,

Ngxokolo has created an award-winning collection of knits inspired by the colours and shapes of Xhosa beadwork, now resonating with overwhelming success amongst his contemporaries.

(South Africa) Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa

By studying the empty skeletons of buildings under construction across the Shanghai skyline, Godwin-Brown was inspired to develop sculptural textile installations that

incorporate several unconventional medias.  The result is a weighty still life of solid forms made up of various tactilities.

(Australia) Chelsea College of Art & Design (London), England

Duff has explored the use of discharge printing to enhance hand-woven fabrics for interiors; screen printing onto the fabric once it is off loom or printing

onto the warp before weaving to create a comtemporary ikat effect.

(Scotland) Heriot-Watt University, Scotland

Experiments with tube knitting create a whirlwind impression of line and colour, mixing

silk, viscose, Lycra and plastic.

Royal College of Art, England

On a quest to redefine conventional ideas about textiles, Tandler was inspired by blacksmith techniques to surprisingly transform alloys such as copper and tinned copper

into a malleable draping cloth suitable for upholstery and even fashion.   The textile’s structure is derived from cotton threads and a specially-developed weaving technique to support its metallic wires.

(Israel) Royal College of Art, England

In a graphic collection derived from of a wide range of inspirations, Silverwood has abstracted the motifs of military insignia into a geometric vocabulary, informing layered

treatments onto wool.

(Britain) Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, England

In a riot of patchwork, haberdashery, embroidery and crochet, Postle’s graduation collection is an intricate reflection of today’s multi-faceted culture; these exotic

millennial silhouettes are colourful and complex compositions that ignite the kind of dynamism that can establish our contemporary folklore.

(Britain) Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, England

Having investigated the roots of producing textiles from bark in Tonga, Langenhuijsen experimented with wooden textiles by using lazer cutting, shaping, pleating, embroidery,

washing, printing and colouring; developing an innovative collection of versatile interior textiles that can even be washed at 60 degrees.

(the Netherlands) Design Academy Eindhoven, the Netherlands

Inspired by the forms of haystacks, a mound of polyurethane tubes are tamed to become The Beast, a recluse in which to hide and be protected; one’s interactive presence helping it come to life.  Constantly on the hunt for new tactilities,

Echazaretta’s tests and interventions indicate a future where materials will have body, grit and guts.

(Chile / France) Design Academy Eindhoven, the Netherlands

A conceptual approach to considering new materials has led to the exploration of biotechnology, sustainability and synthetic biology; tactile propositions that include

the use of fur, hair and hide, harking back to a more primal source while inspiring the fabrics of the future.

(Denmark) Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, England

Embedding technology into the design process for materials, Ng has incorporated memory shape alloys and polymers into botanic motifs that mimic the movements in nature when reacting to electromagnetic energy.

Reaching out to the frontiers where science and design will connect, the architecture of textile offers an exciting glimpse of the future.

(Britain) Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, England

By recuperating scrap pieces of yarn, this Thai designer proposes a tactile collection

of fibrous organisms to mushroom throughout our interiors.

(Thailand) Royal College of Art, England

A concept for light-weight flat-pack textile homeware, becoming playful lamps and stools once inflated.

This amusing collection of products is at once naïve and utilitarian.

(Korea) Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, England

Du Prez interweaves hair, hide and other materials to create a raw interpretation of furniture and accessories.

Unexpected injections of colour introduce an almos tribal sense of folklore to her definitely hip idiom.

(Britain) Royal College of Art, England

By developing an innovative technique to fuse latex and wool, Paterson creates organic shapes that sprawl like growing organisms, reefs and seed pods : garlands

of contemporary matter that are coloured in vegetal greens, deep sea darks and coral brights.

(Scotland) Royal College of Art, England

Inspired by the Brighton coastline on which she grew up, like a true beachcomber, Robinson collects interesting driftwood elements upon which she incorporates brightly-coloured haberdashery to reflect the contemporary urban condition.

Balanced by the wood’s natural presence, her graphic totems and planks are studied compositions of optimistic colour.

(Britain) Royal College of Art, England

Bowler’s designs demonstrate that sustainability and desirability are not incompatible; that sustainable design can be turned into appealing consumer products. She brings longevity to her materials, which come from a London

post-use scrap facility transforming plastics from old bath mats and shower curtains into luxurious, beautiful textile pieces.

(Britain) Royal College of Art, England

Investigating unique treatments to materials, craft techniques and the use of

natural ingredients, a Scandinavian sensibility informs this ecologically-minded collection of textiles.

(Norway) Nottingham Trent University, England

The dialogue between a life in Britain and roots in West Africa has resulted in this designer creating an interesting collection of optical weaves.

A vibrant visual language where north meets south, linked to the irin ajo weaving tradition.

(Nigeria / Britain) Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, England

Navigating a unique terrain where childhood memories merge with surreal stories and sophisticated colour palettes, Marchbanks’ work has evolved from her reflection on childhood and a longing to nurture and cherish her imagination. Her compositions “aim to capture the nostalgic feeling of being told a story as a child,

yet they have no fixed narrative. Instead they work as ingredients, the imagery floats on the page, allowing the viewer to assemble their own story.”

(Britain) Royal College of Art, England

Bridging the frontiers of landscape, memory and culture, Paysant-Le Roux explores the way biology and botany can be translated into poetic textile concepts.  Incorporating

craft and even performance, her intimate works are like design haikus that illustrate where biomimicry and the handmade will meet.

(France) Royal College of Art, England