September 20, 2008 - January 25, 2009 | Colorado Springs Fine Art Center

The Exhibition "Designing Women of Postwar Britain: Their Art and the Modern Interior" features approximately 120 works by six female designers who all emerged after the Second World War. Likely in response to the long period of emotional darkness brought on by the global conflict, these women designers burst upon the design scene with radical compositions and bold use of color. These designers immediately caught the attention of British consumers who were ready and eager for fresh, bright and progressive designs. The Exhibition,
which will be displayed in the Fine Arts Center’s El Pomar Gallery, showcases the work of three women in particular, Lucienne Day, Marian Mahler, and Jacqueline Groag.

In the span of twenty years after World War II (1945-1965), Britain was transformed from a nation devastated by war to an affluent consumer society. This new prosperity became evident in the modernization and stylization of
home interiors. Good design became more readily available to the average consumer with works by designers such as Day, Mahler, and Groag, as well as Paule Vezelay, Mary White and Mary Warren. These innovative designers contributed to the country’s spirit of renewal and helped define a historical turning point in the development of international textile design.

FAC Curator Tariana Navas-Nieves and Guest Curator Shanna Shelby draw from the Denver collection of Jill A. Wiltse and H. Kirk Brown III, whose passion for this unique area of design showcases rare and hard-to-find textiles.

The Exhibition runs until January 25, 2009.

Click here for exhibit hours and directions to the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. Click an image below to view a larger version.