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Continuing to expand the historical scope of the iconic Textiles of the 20th Century™ Series, Maharam announces the introduction of Blumen by Dagobert Peche. Designed by Peche in 1913 for the Wiener Werkstätte, Blumen perfectly illustrates the design zeitgeist of the time; modern geometric patterns are juxtaposed with traditional botanical design to create a fanciful twist on a familiar theme.
The Wiener Werkstätte was founded in 1903 by Joseph Hoffmann and Koloman Moser. Influenced by the Austrian Arts and Craft movement, the group embraced simplicity, local materials and craft traditions in reaction against “useless” gingerbread ornamentation and industrial mass production.
A progressive alliance of decorative artists and craftsmen, the mission of the Wiener Werkstätte was to realize the ideal of “Gesamtkunstwerk” (comprehensive total work of art): a coordinated environment in which every object down to the last teaspoon was consciously designed to unify all facets of human life into one cohesive work of art.
Although he hoped to become a painter, Dagobert Peche was trained as an architect. A penchant for imaginary, less than functional forms, combined with a depressed economy following the First World War influenced Peche’s entrance into the applied arts. After a chance meeting with Josef Hoffmann, Peche joined the Wiener Werkstätte, where his ornamental extravagance provided an influential balance to Hoffmann’s more structured approach. Peche preferred to work with direct stylizations of realistic forms, and as a result, the same motifs–bouquets, vines, grapes, butterflies, and cornucopia–repeat throughout his work. An extremely prolific designer, he applied his unique decorative language across a vast array of media, including interior and textile design, furniture, fashion, ceramics, glass, metalwork, jewelry and wallpaper, before his untimely death at the age of thirty-six.
New York-based Maharam offers a comprehensive collection of textiles for seating, walls, window covering, systems and healthcare applications. Created as a repository of textiles drawn from the archives of many of the great multi-disciplinary designers of the 20th Century, Maharam’s Textiles of the 20th Century™ Series includes the work of Anni Albers, Gunnar Aagaard Andersen, Charles and Ray Eames, Alexander Girard, George Nelson, Verner Panton, Dagobert Peche, and Gio Ponti.