Fine Art Meets Fashion

May 10 - October 4, 2008

The exhibition displays the scarves or "artist squares" developed by Zika and Lida Ascher, Czech refugees in London, who started a textile business in 1939. After a period of "prolonged drabness" during World War II, the Aschers broke the mold by inviting the most prominent artists of the day – Marie Laurencin, Henry Moore, Henri Matisse, Jean Cocteau, Alexander Calder and others – to work with them in the screen-printing workshop. The grand-scale scarves, measuring 3 ft. x 3 ft., were printed in limited editions and the screens were destroyed after printing.

"The scarves are an extraordinary combination of fine art, fashion and printmaking," said FAC Curator Tariana Navas-Nieves. "They represent the idea that good design should revive the spirit and be made available to all, not just the elite. The variety and brilliance of the scarves showcased the personal flare of the wearer and revived the fashion industry."

Styling the Modern, guest-curated by Shanna Shelby, features a series of approximately 20 of these vibrant scarves designed by various modern artists.

“And here’s yet another reason to love the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center: Styling the Modern: Fine Art Meets Fashion. The FAC is such a cultural treasure that many people in Denver are not familiar with. During Colorado’s real art heyday -- 30s, 40s and 50s -- most of the great work was coming out of the Springs, in general, and the FAC in particular.”

— The Cat’s Pajamas (a fashion blog at Westword.com)

“The scarves show an unexpected range of styles, from the loosely rendered figuration of Pedro Flores’ colorful “Contrabandier (Smuggler)” to the chocolate-brown cutouts of Matisse in “Echarpe (Scarf).”

— Kyle MacMillan of the Denver Post

Styling the Modern is guest-curated by Shanna Shelby. These stunning works of wearable art are from the collection of Jill A. Wiltse and H. Kirk Brown III.