Lucienne Day

Lucienne Day at Design Manchester

Fans of textile design should not miss the ‘Lucienne Day: Living Design’ exhibition, currently on show at the Manchester School of Art as part of Design Manchester.

This year would have been the centenary of the birth of influential textile designer and colourist Lucienne Day, who died in 2010. There have been a number of exhibitions recently celebrating Day’s life and work – the Whitworth in Manchester held a show in the spring, and the Arts University Bournemouth hosted ‘Lucienne Day: Living Design’, curated by AUB’s Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Emma Hunt in collaboration with Lucienne Day’s daughter, Paula Day, earlier this year. It is this latter exhibition that has now toured to the Vertical Gallery at the Manchester School of Art, as part of Design Manchester.

Lucienne Day
All photos by Sebastian Matthes
Lucienne Day
Lucienne Day
Lucienne Day

Day was renowned in particular for her breakout exhibition of textiles and wallpapers at the Festival of Britain, held in London’s Southbank in 1951, which were displayed in various room settings in the Homes and Gardens Pavilion, and also for her ongoing partnership with Heal’s, for which she created over 70 designs over a 25-year period.

The Manchester School of Art show celebrates her work in textiles, wallpaper and carpets via large displays of both original designs and reproductions, and also documents her life, through a selection of photographs drawn from the Robin and Lucienne Day archive. On until November 20, the exhibition demonstrates clearly how fresh and relevant Day’s designs remain today.

Lucienne Day
Lucienne Day
Lucienne Day

Lucienne Day: Living Design is on at the Manchester School of Art until November 20. It forms part of Design Manchester, designmcr.com