Pattern Play: The Contemporary Designs of Jacqueline Groag

A renewed appetite for decoration and color flourished throughout Britain following the prolonged trauma of World War II. Forward-looking and optimistic, post-war designers responded to the freedom of the 1950s by creating vibrantly patterned home furnishing fabrics and fashion textiles. These designers, inspired by architecture, nature, and abstract art, pioneered a progressive contemporary style characterized by an imaginative use of color, innovative materials, and dynamic patterns. The new look offered a dramatic contrast to the dreary, monochromatic world of the war years.

Jacqueline Groag (British, born Prague, 1903–1986) was one of the most influential and versatile pattern designers of the post-war era. Whether abstract or representational, her avant-garde and naively charming patterns for textiles, dress fabrics, wallpaper, and laminates helped define the popular contemporary style and exerted a far-reaching influence on British design.

Drawn from the collection of Jill A. Wiltse and H. Kirk Brown III, this exhibition displays Groag’s original drawings and collages alongside her lively, bold designs, providing a rare glimpse into her creative process.

The exhibition is curated by Darrin Alfred, Curator of Architecture and Design, Denver Art Museum. Pattern Play: The Contemporary Designs of Jacqueline Groag is organized by the Denver Art Museum.

Lead sponsorship for this exhibition provided by Elizabeth Edwards Harris.

Additional funding is also provided by Trina Turk, Nancy & Fred Baron, and Bonnie Serkin & Will Emery.

This season’s exhibitions are sponsored by the Herman & Faye Sarkowsky Charitable Foundation and Yvonne & Steve (in memoriam) Maloney.

(banner) Jacqueline Groag, (British, 1903–1986), Puppet Ballet, dress fabric, 1953, printed cotton, 38 ½ x 39 ¼ inches. Manufactured by Associated American Artists, New York City. Collection of Jill A. Wiltse and H. Kirk Brown III, L2022.1.22. Photo courtesy of the Denver Art Museum.