Alexander Girard, Shown and Documented

by John Morris Dixon | October 31st, 2016

In the middle decades of the 20th Century, Modern design was in danger of becoming too austere, too dominated by the expression of structure and rugged materials. Alexander Girard, in his wide-ranging design accomplishments, made sure that visual stimulation beyond the dictates of functionalism – bright colors, ornamental patterns, expressions of whimsy – could figure significantly in Modernist environments. His extensive accomplishments are now the subject of an exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany, and an accompanying catalogue, both entitled “Alexander Girard: A Designer’s Universe.” The exhibit combines some 400 Girard-designed objects with about 300 works of folk art that he collected. The massive 512-page catalogue is both a scholarly examination of Girard’s life and output, with essays by seven experts in aspects of his career and a handsomely illustrated compendium describing more than 500 individual works, from entire interiors to matchbooks. The show is …