Wrapper. Dyula peoples, Ivory Coast, mid-20th century. Hand-loomed cotton, tied-resist (ikat) patterning, indigo dyed, plain weave with rayon supplementary weft patterns. 174 x 104.1 cm (5 ft. 8 1/2 in. x 41 in.). Museum purchase from Textile Department Fund, 1979-23-1. Photo: Matt Flynn.

About David Adjaye Selects: Works From The Permanent Collection

On view June 19, 2015 through Feb. 14, 2016

Architect David Adjaye presents 14 West and Central African textiles from the museum’s permanent collection in the latest installment of the Selects series. On view in the renovated Marks Gallery on the museum’s first floor, the exhibition is the 12th in the ongoing series, in which prominent designers, artists and architects are invited to mine and interpret the museum’s collection.

This is a man's cap (laket) from Democratic Republic of Congo. It is dated late 19th–early 20th century and we acquired it in 1957. Museum purchase from Au Panier Fleuri Fund. image © Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum

Hailed as an architect with an artist’s sensibility and with projects underway on four continents, Adjaye is known for combining the aesthetics of his African heritage with classic, modernist design. In exploring Cooper Hewitt’s collection, he has created a dialogue between the museum’s textiles and his own “library of patterns” that he draws on as a source of inspiration in his work. Having lived in Africa as a child and visited each of the continent’s 54 nations as an adult, Adjaye is deeply affected by the importance of textiles in the visual culture of Africa, whose forms and patterns are often reflected in his buildings.

This is a man's two-horned cap. It is dated late 19th–early 20th century and we acquired it in 1960. Gift of Mrs. Benjamin Ginsburg. image © Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum

Highlights of the works on view include:

an Asante kente cloth from Ghana, a bògòloanfini mud cloth from Mali,, a Dyula ikat wrapper from Ivory Coast,a Yoruba indigo dyed wrapper from Nigeria.

This is a adire wrapper from The Gambia. It is dated ca. 1990 and we acquired it in 1993. Museum purchase from General Acquisitions Endowment Fund. image © Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum

This is a adire wrapper from Nigeria. It is dated ca. 1960 and we acquired it in 1962. Gift of the Estate of Mary Kirby. image © Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum

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