New exhibition celebrates pioneering designer
An exhibition celebrating the life and work of one of the post-war generation’s most influential designers is winging its way to The Oxfordshire Museum this weekend.
Lucienne Day: Living Design, which marks the centenary of the designer's birth, opens on Saturday (13 Jan) at the Woodstock attraction.
Using original materials and archive photos it tells the story of Day’s pioneering work, from 1940s art student through to her prolific output from the 1950s to 1970s, creating patterns for dress fabrics, table linen, carpets and ceramics. The exhibition concludes with her ‘second career’ in the last two decades of the century as a designer of handstitched fine art wall-hangings.
The exhibition comes at a time when Day’s body of work is steadily coming back into commercial production to excite and inspire a new generation.
Calyx screen-printed furnishing fabric, Lucienne Day,
Heal's Wholesale & Export, 1951.
Copyright The Robin & Lucienne Day Foundation.
Collaboration
Lucienne Day: Living Design has been curated by Arts University Bournemouth Deputy Vice-Chancellor and design historian Professor Emma Hunt in collaboration with Lucienne’s daughter Paula Day, chair of the Robin and Lucienne Day Foundation.
Professor Hunt said: “I have been very privileged to work alongside Paula Day and it has been an amazing opportunity to spend time with her, going through the archives and hearing about her parents, who were so dedicated to their design practice.
“As a designer, Lucienne Day had a real sense of purpose and commitment to detail which enabled her to progress so successfully, and inspire future generations. I think one of the most important aspects of the exhibition is the support for student designers, not just of Textiles, but all design courses.”
The free exhibition runs from 13 January to 4 March, 2018 at The Oxfordshire Museum.
Exhibition Lecture:
Exhibition talk: Lucienne Day – A Sense of Growth by Jennifer Harris
3 February, 2pm, tickets £8
Dr Jennifer Harris is the former Deputy Director of The Whitworth, Manchester and Curator of the earliest retrospective of Day’s work.
She will discuss Lucienne Day’s career and her own personal memories of working with one of the 20th centuries most iconic designers.
Contact
The Oxfordshire Museum, Park street, Woodstock OX20 1SN. Tel: 01993 814106
www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/museums
Email: oxonmuseum@oxfordshire.gov.uk
Opening times: Tues-Fri 10-4.30, Sat 10-5, Sun 12-5. Free admission
Main image
Lucienne Day with Script (1956) at Cheyne Walk. Copyright The Robin & Lucienne Day Foundation
Photograph: Central Office of Information.