Sonia Delaunay: Living Art

Exhibition at the Bard Graduate Center, New York, 23 February - 7 July 2024

Remarkably diverse and interconnected, the work of Sonia Delaunay (1885-1979) is centred on the primacy of colour and the synthesis of the arts. A painter, craftswoman and designer, the artist embraced modernity and harnessed the creative power of collaboration in fashion, textiles, interiors, books, mosaics and tapestries.

This exhibition catalogue brings together nearly 200 objects from major international lenders, reflecting Delaunay's kaleidoscopic output across all the periods of his career, from the Parisian avant-garde of the 1910s to the fiery 1970s. Departing from traditional chronological structures to better highlight the innovative research that unifies the artist's timeless work across different media, this publication demonstrates Delaunay's innate versatility and willingness to create without material limits using his unique language of light and colour.

Textiles, fashion, interiors, the art of the book and many other fields are highlighted in 26 chapters written by leading international scholars, giving new insight into Delaunay's self-promotion strategies, his entrepreneurial projects, his efforts to build a legacy and his vast network of collaborators.