BARD GRADUATE CENTER GALLERY
18 West 86th StreetBGC Faculty, Staff, and Student Preview of
September 15, 11 am-5 pm
18 West 86th Street Gallery
Threads of Power: Lace from the Textilmuseum St. Gallen marks the US debut of more than 150 examples of lace from the extensive collection of the Textilmuseum St. Gallen, Switzerland. It traces the development of lace from its sixteenth-century origins to the present—the first large-scale American exhibition in New York in 40 years to tell this story. An introduction addresses needle and bobbin techniques and the skill of female lacemakers who crafted this sought-after status symbol. As garments and portraits demonstrate, handmade lace was a signifier of power and wealth at the courts of Habsburg Spain, Bourbon France, as well as in the Spanish Americas, until it fell from favor in the wake of the French Revolution. In the early decades of the nineteenth century, lace regained its popularity and by mid-century, with mechanization and industrialization, it was readily accessible to a rapidly expanding middle-class market. The consumption of both hand- and machine-made lace reached its peak at the turn of the twentieth century. Contemporary couture closes the exhibition, revealing new innovations in lace production that will shape this global industry’s future.
Co-curated by Emma Cormack (BGC MA ’18), Associate Curator, Bard Graduate Center; Ilona Kos,
Curator, Textilmuseum St. Gallen; and Michele Majer, Assistant Professor, Bard Graduate Center.
Sep 15 - 16, 2022
BARD GRADUATE CENTER GALLERY
18 West 86th Street
Bard Graduate Center is devoted to the study of decorative arts, design history, and material culture through research, advanced degrees, exhibitions, publications, and events.
Find more Bard Graduate Center Events and Performing & Visual Arts events in New York
Share