Du 24 mars au 29 juillet 2018
Galerie d’art Freer et Galerie Arthur M. Sackler
1050 Independence Ave. SW,
Washington, DC
Avec leurs dessins complexes, les ikats sont parmi les tissus les plus extraordinaires produits en Asie. L’exposition rassemble une trentaine de pièces et de manteaux ikat historiques d’Asie centrale, provenant des collections Freer | Sackler, offertes par Guido Goldman, ainsi que sept des créations emblématiques d’Oscar de la Renta.
The name, derived from the Malaysian word for “to tie,” refers to the distinct technique of making these textiles: bundles of threads are painstakingly patterned by repeated binding and dyeing before being woven. In present-day Uzbekistan and the Fergana Valley, the fabric is known as abr (cloud) and the technique as abrbandi (tying clouds), referring to the fluid yet bold motifs in bright colors.
Not surprisingly, ikats caught the attention of contemporary designers, most notably Oscar de la Renta (died 2014). In 2005 de la Renta included ikat designs in his collections, an innovation that was soon followed by other designers in the United States and elsewhere. Since then ikat motifs have become ubiquitous—from couture gowns to jeans and T-shirts, and from carpets and sofa coverings to stationery and wallpapers.