Opening Soon : Kaffe Fassett – A Life in Colour

- Fashion and Textile Museum announces first major exhibition on international textile artist Kaffe Fassett’s work in London since 1988

- ‘Kaffe Fassett – A Life in Colour’ showcases over five decades of work, from designs for Bill Gibb, knitwear for Missoni, printed patchwork fabrics, glorious quilts, and inspired needlepoint

- Exhibition dates 22 March – 29 June 2013

‘Kaffe Fassett – A Life in Colour’ is a celebration of the work of one of the great practitioners of contemporary craft. This exhibition, the first in London since Kaffe Fassett’s record-breaking show at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1988, features over 100 works within a dramatic installation designed by Sue Timney.

Exhibition highlights include extravagantly-coloured 9-foot-wide knitted shawls, coats and throws, patchwork fabrics shown in a glorious selection of quilts, as well as items especially created for this exhibit and not seen in public before. The design also features a ‘feeling’ wall that allows visitors to touch and better understand the textiles on display and their construction.

From his childhood in the creative community of Big Sur, California, to his career as a painter, and later as a knitwear and textile designer in London from the 1960s to the present day, Kaffe’s ability to blend pattern, texture and colour has won him a dedicated following of enthusiasts.

Head of the Fashion and Textile Museum, Celia Joicey says
‘Kaffe Fassett is one of the world’s greatest living textile artists. This retrospective will celebrate Kaffe Fassett’s work, and the incredible people and environments that have inspired him during the last fifty years.’

Curator of the Fashion and Textile Museum, Dennis Nothdruft says
‘The exhibition will provide new insight into one of the most accomplished colourists of the late 20th and early 21st century. We hope to introduce Kaffe Fassett’s work to a new audience and inspire future generations to explore colour, texture and form. '

Exhibition designer, Sue Timney says
‘The exhibition will have a comprehensive drama to it. It will be displayed in a stylized, ordered framework that will hold the richly patterned and colour-filled objects that have been created in Kaffe's long life and work, through his collaboration with Brandon Mably.’

The exhibition will also celebrate Kaffe Fassett's long-association with internationally-renowned handknitting company Rowan. A shop at the FTM will make available a specially selected range of kits, fabric, yarn, other materials, books and magazines to enable visitors to return home to create their own projects. Previous events with Kaffe at the Museum have generated unprecedented audiences. A priority booking line will be launched by the Museum next month to enable visitors to book ahead.




Fashion and Textile Museum, 83 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3XF www.ftmlondon.org