Moderne is "lavish"—NY Times · Nov 16, 12:04 PM
In today’s New York Times, Wendy Moonan reviews “Modern: Fashioning the Modern French Interior,” a new exhibition at the Wolfsonian Museum in Miami and a sumptuous new book from Princeton Architectural Press:
“Pochoir, a traditional—and laborious—French stenciling technique that dates to the 14th century, was reinvented in the 1920s to promote the new Art Deco and French Moderne styles. Pochoirs (pronounced poh-SHWAHR) depicting Deco interiors in strong, saturated colors appeared in art and design magazines and limited-edition portfolios that decorators produced. Because a pochoir print was hand-colored in watercolor or gouache, it was a particularly vibrant and stylish alternative to drawings or black-and-white photography. “Fashioning the Modern French Interior: Pochoir Portfolios in the 1920s,” an exhibition at the Wolfsonian-Florida International University Museum in Miami Beach, which opens today, offers a look at the medium.”
“The technique was highly specialized; certain artisans specialized in certain colors,” Sarah Schleuning, the Wolfsonian curator who organized the show, said. “Someone at the end of the process compared the pochoir to the original to do a final color check. There was so much quality control that the colors were seen as accurately reflecting those of the designer.”
“The exhibition displays 113 prints culled from portfolios in the Wolfsonian’s rare-book library and runs through May 11. Together these prints document the furniture and interiors of leading designers in Paris like Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann, Pierre Chareau, Robert Mallet-Stevens, Charlotte Perriand and Eileen Gray.”
“Pochoir was used strategically to elevate the art of interior decoration by making its representation fashionable, distinctive and elite in character,” Cathy A. Leff, director of the Wolfsonian, writes in the lavish catalog (Princeton Architectural Press). “Tactile, layered and luxurious, pochoir prints were mass-produced but were also the product of many skilled hands. Sophisticated but nonetheless attainable, these detailed explorations of the modern interior epitomize progressive French taste at a particular moment in time.”
“The show, which is scheduled to travel in September to the New York School of Interior Design, depicts some interiors with several patterns in a single room. Geometric and floral designs may appear on painted ceilings, on upholstery or on wallpaper. The catalog reproduces a few samples of hand-painted wallpapers from the late 1920s.”
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