We have been busy putting the finishing touches on our newest collection (releasing September 8!), and looking back at the inspiration we gathered along the way. Drawn to incredible artists like Agnes Martin, Anni Albers, and Louise Bourgeois we leaned into the immense power and serenity that stripes can have. Read more below about how each of these artists translated their unique perspective and emotions into color, pattern and form.
Agnes Martin
Agnes Martin transformed simple lines into expressive and serene forms. Her color palette also weighed in as an emotional component and her pieces were subtle yet complex, acting as meditations for herself and for viewers. She used the colors of morning, subtle pinks, sands, sky blues and grays, as a palette that captured the stillness of the New Mexico desert where she lived.
After living in New York for the early part of her career, she chose to move to New Mexico with the encouragement of friends and lived a life of observation and solitude. It is this state of mind that she translates into painting, encouraging a sense of calm, of looking. The expansiveness of the desert is captured in the square of her paintings.
Read more here: "Agnes Martin", edited by Frances Morris and Tiffany Bell ; "Agnes Martin: The Distillation of Color" by Durga Chew-Bose
Louise Bourgeois
One of our all time favorite artists is Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010). She was born into a family of artists who moved to Choisy-le-Roi in France to restore tapestries. Louise grew up surrounded by textiles that later influenced her artistic practice.
For our newest collection, we were inspired by a series of sewn collages that Bourgeois made of found fabrics. She transformed simple stripes into graphic compositions, making a commonplace motif appear unfamiliar. Bourgeois' work highlights the versatility of the stripe and invites us to imagine new worlds and new contexts for what we think we already understand.
Read more here: "Louise Bourgeois: The Woven Child", edited by Ralph Rugoff ; "Louise Bourgeois: Spiral", by Louise Bourgeois
Anni Albers
Anni Albers (1899-1994) was one of the preeminent textile artists of last century. She studied at the Bauhaus, but struggled to find a discipline when she enrolled. She settled on weaving, as it was the only workshop that women were allowed to take part in.
Albers believed strongly in letting materials guide the direction of the designs and artworks she made, each lending themselves to distinct forms and techniques. It is this understanding that allows great craftspeople and artists to imbue new meaning to their work and can push the boundaries of their chosen field.
Read more here: "Anni Albers" by Ann Coxon, Briony Fer, Maria Müller-Schareck ; "On Weaving" by Anni Albers