Museum De Lakenhal met Aleksandra Gaca op Salone del Mobile in Milaan

Press release

31 March 2017

MUSEUM DE LAKENHAL TAKES ALEKSANDRA GACA TO SALONE DEL MOBILE IN MILAN

Museum De Lakenhal is presenting a brand new design by Aleksandra Gaca in Milan. The museum commissioned the textile designer to create a wall covering for the auditorium of the refurbished museum. Gaca’s design process is being showcased for the first time as part of Masterly – The Dutch in Milano at Salone del Mobile in Milan.

MONDRIAN TO DUTCH DESIGN

Nicole Uniquole of the Netherlands, curator and initiator of Masterly – The Dutch in Milano, selected fourteen Dutch artists and designers who draw inspiration from De Stijl for the Mondrian To Dutch Design exhibition, which is part of the Salone del Mobile. The exhibition will be on display at Palazzo Francesco Turati from 4 to 9 April. She invited Museum De Lakenhal and Aleksandra Gaca to show the design process for the new wall covering. The final result will be presented at the reopening of Museum De Lakenhal in Leiden in spring 2019.

DESIGN SKETCHES

The buildings that house Museum De Lakenhal are currently being restored and extended. As part of the refurbishment process, Aleksandra Gaca was commissioned to design a wall covering for the new auditorium. She drew inspiration for the design from the Dutch artist Theo van Doesburg (1884-1931), who established the international journal De Stijl in Leiden a hundred years ago.

Gaca took as the basis for her textile design Counter-Composition in Dissonance XVI of 1925, which features both the primary colours of De Stijl and the diagonal lines typical of Van Doesburg. She isolated parts of the composition, repeated them and introduced a new rhythm, then had the design made up using a subtle interplay of thread and fabric that creates a stunning new material. The play of light on the thread and fabric, combined with small coloured highlights, produces subtle yet surprising nuances. The design sketches were made at the TextielMuseum|TextielLab in Tilburg.

LINKING PAST AND PRESENT

Over the past few years Museum De Lakenhal has awarded a series of commissions linking past and present to several artists and designers. Previous commissions have gone to Erwin Olaf, Atelier Van Lieshout, Christie van der Haak and Mae Engelgeer. The museum has commissioned work from several artists for the restoration and extension, including Dutch-Polish designer Aleksandra Gaca.

ALEKSANDRA GACA

Textile designer Aleksandra Gaca (b. 1969) specialises in the design and production of innovative fabrics that are both aesthetically pleasing and have an acoustic effect. She is well known for translating abstract architectural concepts such as order, rhythm and repetition into textiles. Her thread structures are for example based on the play of lines in structures like steel frames, brickwork and tiled surfaces. She experiments with weaves that she develops herself and with unusual threads, producing intriguing textiles that combine elements of art, design and architecture. Her work always beautifully balances craft and innovation. Masterly also includes a solo presentation by Aleksandra Gaca entitled Fabric of Life, which will include a wide range of her experimental acoustic fabric designs.

NOTE FOR EDITORS

Museum De Lakenhal is Leiden’s fine art, decorative arts and history museum. The highlights of its collection include works by old masters like Lucas van Leyden, Rembrandt van Rijn and Jan Steen, as well as modern artists such as Theo van Doesburg, Jan Wolkers and Erwin Olaf. Museum De Lakenhal uses sources associated with Leiden to stage high-quality exhibitions of national and international importance. The museum sees itself as an innovative networker linking past and present, inspiring visitors with old and new perspectives.