Larsen started his textile design house in 1952 in New York and quickly made a name for himself with his hand-woven fabrics of natural yarns. The random repeats of the patterns in these textiles spoke to mid-century design enthusiasts and he has been a leading textile designer ever since. His interest in weaving and textile crafts have helped introduce Ikats and Batiks in the world of design. However, it's his 60's and 70's work with velvet that makes me swoon.
What strikes me with the velvets is the intense jolt of color. Don't get me wrong, his linens and other wovens are gorgeous and I would quite happily fill my home with them, but my heart will always belong to total color saturation.
In 1997 the firm Larsen Incorporated merged with Cowtan and Tout who are keeping the Larsen name alive with hand woven textiles, silks and hides. For more information and pretty pictures, check out the Minneapolis museum of arts website on Larsen. (It has a great archive of fabrics divided by decade) Also check out the Longhouse website, where you can read about his arts-inspired house and sculptural garden project.
3 comments:
Thanks for sharing this post on a great textile designer. He's a modern day textile tycoon...I know I can always look to him for inspiration. He's one man I wish I could meet in person and speak with about his travels, art, design etc. Just found your blog and I'm looking forward to checking out your other posts too!
Oh good lord! I'll take one of each and jam them all into my living room.
Welcome hkpowerstudio! I'm glad you found us through JL Larsen, he really is just a champion designer isn't he? I've been searching for his book but haven't found it yet. Have you seen it? I was going to get it from the library, but I'm pretty sure I won't be able to give it back!
Donna: I know! Maybe we can split them between our houses and swap them out every 6 months.. that might clear up some room.
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