Behind the Scenes: Knoll Textiles

Many a modern-design enthusiast can spot a Cesca side chair and say it was designed by Marcel Breuer. But, were it upholstered in Digit fabric, few could name the textile designer. (Answer: Suzanne Tick.) The new exhibition at the Bard Graduate Center titled Knoll Textiles, 1945-2010 features Knoll's original fabrics and textiles. The project began four years ago when Knoll approached Bard to do an exhibit. Soon thereafter, the curatorial team was created, comprising of Earl Martin, the associate curator at the Bard Graduate Center; Angela Völker, the curator emeritus of textiles at the MAK in Vienna; Susan Ward, an independent textile historian, and Paul Makovsky, the editorial director of Metropolis and a Florence Knoll expert. After years digging through existing archives and searching through former Knoll employees' attics to put together a comprehensive history and catalogue of KnollTextiles works, the exhibit is finally on display. Here, Madovsky takes us behind the scene and shares went into creating the show and shares stories about a number of the pieces on display.