The Fabric Workshop + Museum (FWM) presents Venturi, Scott Brown and Grandmother: Patterns for Production. This exhibition illustrates the bold commitment to surface pattern and color that distinguished the designs of Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates for textiles, furniture, and decorative arts from the early 1970s to the early 1990s.

Both on the walls of the Mt. Airy home shared by architects Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown and at FWM where the Grandmother, Notebook, and Flowers designs were developed, patterns were tested—some floral, some abstract, some combined—the designers skillfully manipulating effects of scale, rhythm, color, and association. These experiments mirrored the working process of Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates for their commercial clients, where the firm’s tendency to continuously modify and refine is recorded in the numerous prototypes and samples produced for every project.

Curated by: Claudia Cueto, AIA, CuetoKEARNEYdesign Architects; Kathryn B. Hiesinger, Ph.D., The J. Mahlon Buck, Jr. Family Senior Curator, European Decorative Arts after 1700, Philadelphia Museum of Art; Marion Boulton Stroud, Founder and Artistic Director, The Fabric Workshop and Museum; and William Whitaker, Curator and Collections Manager, The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania.

Exhibition on view through November 9; with public reception on Thursday, October 2 from 6pm to 8pm. Hours: Monday-Friday, from 10am–6pm and Saturday–Sunday, from 12pm–5pm.

Image: Venturi, Scott Brown Residence (alterations), Mt. Airy, Philadelphia. View of dining room with stenciled decoration, 1990. Courtesy of Venturi, Scott Brown Collection, The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Photo credit: Paul Warchol.

This event is featured on designfeed, the official blog of the DesignPhiladelphia Festival. Read more here.