Alexander Girard: Timeless Textiles with Roots in Folk Art
“Art is only art when it is synonymous with living.” — Alexander Girard
Alexander Girard’s playful patterns and bright colors were a breath of fresh air into the otherwise stodgy and often colorless domestic world of post-war America.
Born in New York City and raised in Florence, “Sandro” Girard had, in the words of Hugh De Pree, “impeccable taste and incredible astuteness about space, color, and pattern.” Nowhere is this more evident than in the fabrics Girard designed for Herman Miller in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.
Drawing inspiration from folk art — Girard’s personal collection reached some 100,000 items — he brought a dimension of taste and color to his work with Herman Miller and their other design leaders, George Nelson and Charles Eames. Today, Girard’s fabric designs are timeless expressions of charm, wit, and originality.
Girard contributed his collection to The Museum of International Folk Art, home to the world’s largest collection of folk art. The long-term exhibit, Multiple Visions: A Common Bond, which opened in 1982, is displayed in the Girard Wing and was designed by Girard himself. It showcases folk art, popular art, toys, and textiles from more than 100 nations.
To see another dimension of Girard’s “Daisy Face”, check out this video about the sculpture outside Herman Miller’s Los Angeles showroom.
By Marcia Davis