When I visit England during the Summer break from teaching, I always look forward to going to see the latest exhibition at the Tate Modern in London. This time, I was particularly excited, as the current exhibition documents the work of Sonia Delaunay.
Delaunay was one of the pioneers of abstraction, and an important figure of the Paris avant-garde. She had a vibrant career through most of the twentieth century.
As Juliette Rizzi describes from the exhibition leaflet, ‘The dynamic forms and vibrant color of her paintings captured the spirit of modernity, celebrating technology, urban life, travel, and dance crazes such as the tango. Yet from a twenty-first century perspective, perhaps the most modern aspect of her work was her willingness to go beyond the traditional confines of fine art to embrace fashion, textiles, costume and set design, interior design, architecture and advertising. An adept businesswoman, she opened her own fashion house and established her name as a brand, while her collaborations with literary figures such as Blaise Cendrars produced a unique fusion of poetry and art’.
I found the exhibition extremely inspiring, particularly Delaunay’s incredible color use and the room dedicated to her distinctive textile designs.
Below are a few of my favorite paintings from the exhibition.
Sonia Delaunay, ‘Sleeping Girl’, 1907.
Sonia Delaunay, ‘Jeune Finlandaise’, 1907.
Sonia Delaunay, ‘Finlandaise’, 1908.
