The Post War Textile Visionaries of Modern Art:
Alistair Morton & Edinburgh Weavers, Textiles Through A Modernist Eye
Inspired by the pioneering genius of Alistair Morton, Edinburgh Weavers forged a worldwide reputation in the 20th Century for fusing modern art and textile design.
Alistair Morton, a modernist visionary, was uniquely recognised for his talent of interpreting in fabric the full quality of an artist’s handwriting. He commissioned drawings from some of the greatest modern artists for textile production and through his designer’s eye took their art to new levels. In the late 1930s his Constructivist range saw work from Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth translated into jacquard woven textiles for the top end of British Interior design. In the post war era, Morton continued to fuse modern art with textile design, keeping it in step with contemporary living. His knowledge of process, his understanding of the construction of fabric, and his obsession with the thrilling contrasts achieved by mixing different yarns cemented his reputation as an avant-garde artist and designer in his own right.
Ashley Gray is a leading specialist and curator in the key art discipline of Modern Textiles and their history, regularly invited to lecture on the subject both in the UK and the US. As a curator and archivist, he works with institutions and foundations on conservation and exhibition projects. Most recently he curated Styled by Design at Cromwell Place in London, an exhibition that celebrates the innovation of Modernist textile design.