Kaffe Fassett at the American Museum


If you are like me and you love colour, then you'll understand how excited I was to visit the Kaffe Fassett exhibition at the American Museum in Bath!


It was a dull grey rainy day but look what greeting us on arrival! 


multi-coloured yarn bombing!


Outside the exhibition hall, the tree swayed in the wind with its fruit of rainbow pompoms and lightshades!


 Never mind the wind and the rain, look what's up ahead!


 I was so excited when I stepped inside, I didn't know what to look at first and when I heard that photography was allowed, that did it!


So what to show you first? Well this red shelf display was the first thing you see as you walk through the entrance and I found it so overwhelming I couldn't look at it for very long, so I decided to find a calmer place in the exhibition. (I'll come back and show you this properly later when I've calmed down a bit.)


 So into the green room, or cabbage room. There were quite a few cabbages around in this section.




Oh now just look at that lovely cabbage painting of Kaffe's. He was originally a painter before his career went in the direction of knitting and needlepoint.


Oh now look at that bright green chair! (note to self: paint a chair green as soon as possible.)


 Ah! I'm feeling calmer now I've been looking at green cabbages and flowers. I'm ready now to appreciate the subtle tones of this beautiful knitted jacket. :)


 That was soothing wasn't it?

Now onto the next bit, 
YELLOW!


My photo doesn't do it justice but this was like a corner of sunshine, so uplifting.


What a lovely yellow chair! (note to self: paint a chair yellow as soon as possible.)


A wall of genius Kaffe quotes. :)


I love this glass cabinet display, blues, pinks, reds...


...mauves, a touch of green


 and his lovely painting of vases that hung nearby, echoing the colours in the cabinet. :)


A couple of glorious quilts.





I love that blue chair. It was actually a beautiful shade of deep turquoise in real life and I knew there and then that I have to paint a chair a deep turquoise as soon as possible!


This cabinet of reds was a feast to behold.


So too the knitted throw.

So now we've been around the exhibition, lets have another look at the first display again.


The shelves are painted red and yes, one day I will paint shelves red. 
There were his fabric designs, spools of yarn, samples of quilting and embroidery, ribbons, beads and painting and books.


So much visual information I still found it difficult to take it all in!


Then my eyes rested on this quiet little basket. I know and recognise this, it feels like home to me :) 

(To see the details displayed more clearly 'right click' on the photo to open it.)

 I was on a proper high after seeing this exhibition. Colour has a more of a profound effect on me than I thought
and this was an explosion of colour! 

PS. I was so excited that I left my umbrella there by mistake and it was raining.

Go figure. ;)
xx
























Comments

Anne said…
WOW!
I love all that colour!
I'm not sure which room I like the best.
Palomasea said…
Oh my ...OH MY! :))) I am completely and utterly as excited as you are...I can't even imagine seeing all of this gorgeousness in person! As soon as I saw your post, Jess, I immediatelty Googled this artist...what an extraordinary, brilliant man!
How thrilling that you were able to see this wonderful exhibit....

Hee heee...the chairs made me giggle....:))) I think it would be fun to have the dining room chairs painted in different colors...hmmmm....I may just have to do that...
Thank you so very much for sharing this gem!
And a big thank you for your visit... :) Always so lovely to see a message from you....
Have a beautiful and creative weekend, sweet friend!
xoxo,
- Irina
Palomasea said…
Oh my ...OH MY! :))) I am completely and utterly as excited as you are...I can't even imagine seeing all of this gorgeousness in person! As soon as I saw your post, Jess, I immediatelty Googled this artist...what an extraordinary, brilliant man!
How thrilling that you were able to see this wonderful exhibit....

Hee heee...the chairs made me giggle....:))) I think it would be fun to have the dining room chairs painted in different colors...hmmmm....I may just have to do that...
Thank you so very much for sharing this gem!
And a big thank you for your visit... :) Always so lovely to see a message from you....
Have a beautiful and creative weekend, sweet friend!
xoxo,
- Irina
lynne h said…
whoa, jess... just WHOA... my heart's aflutterin'! i want to go to the american museum *now*!!

thank you for this! it's inspirational beyond belief...

xoxo
Anonymous said…
All I can say is wow. Thanks for sharing this fabulous exhibit. His works and fabric is viery popular here in my town. I love his bright colors and use of the fabric in all his work. Have a wonderful week end. I am inspired and need to get my sewing machine moving .
millefeuilles said…
Dear Jess,

This is an amazing post! I have recently really got into Kaffe Fassett all over again. What a wonderful tribute to colour his work is.

Your carried us through the exhibition really well, Jess, and it takes a lot less for me to forget my umbrella :-)

Stephanie
He really is the master of colour, isn't he!
It all looks amazing.
Your going to have a lot of coloured chairs in your house Jess! ;)
V xxx
Jennifer Hays said…
Oh, how fun. I would love to see this exhibit. Thanks for sharing your photos. Have you read his book? I really enjoyed it.
Els said…
Ohhhhh Jess, when I read "colour" and "kaffe Fassett" I went to your post at once !!!!!!!
You could get drunk of all this colour !
Saw his work ages ago in the Textile Museum in Tilburg/Holland and loved it ever since.
Love to look at the books I have of him, just to get some bright colour !

THANKS for taking us on tour ;-)
CJ said…
Wow, what an amazing exhibition. I love the American Museum, although I haven't been there for a while. You have reminded me about it, thank you. I hope you have a good weekend. CJ xx
Merlesworld said…
Wow so much colour, that place would cheer you up on dull day.
Merle..............
Impressive works! I do like the cabbage room, best!
Gina said…
Wow! I can never get enough of his work. It's glorious!
Paper rainbow said…
Can't begin to thank you Jess!! Thank you, thank you for this wonderful post! I adore Kaffe, and have coveted his work in all its forms since I first discovered it as a teenager ( Many moons ago) His work speaks to my soul.... it is truly wondrous. I recently discovered his Glorious colour tv series repeated on channel 4 on demand and loved re-watching. I am now going to do a bit of pondering on whether I am able to tke a little trip to Bath.....hmmmmmmm, :)
renilde said…
if the photo's are already that overwhelming i have a slight idea how it must be in the real.
what to say...the man has color running through his vains, clever designs (i love the patches that look like bees in that quilt).
i can easily understand your excitement Jessie,thanks for showing , have a colorful weekend, x
Rosie said…
I love his work. I have all the books. What a great exhibition. Thanks for posting all the pics. I would have left myself there...
Martina said…
Wow, that's really a festoval of colors! KF really is a genius! I find beautiful fabric so inspiring and often dream of having my own home-collection one day ;) Thank you also for the lovely comment on my Yoga illustration. I did look at your tree pose picture - so sweet and just great for a childrens Yoga class. The brightly colored socks and the cat - gorgeous!
Cheers to a happy weekend - hopefully the sun will show up!
xx
denthe said…
Oh Jessica, thanks so much for showing this. I looooove it! I have always been attracted by strong colours, they make me happy, and seeing these pictures was like being in colour heaven :-) I love the selection of his quotes, and that multi-coloured yarn bombing ... sigh. Might have to buy one of his books ....
wow! I've always loved his fabrics. Wish I could have seen this exhibition.
Kyra Wilson said…
Wow, that's quite an exhibition! I love the yarn-bombing! ;)
rossichka said…
What a feast of colours! Too strong to bear without a rapid heartbeat!:D
If I was there, I would spend more time in the green room...:)
Hope you are now full of energy, Jessie!:)
Dude! Kaffe Fassett is my IDOL; he's like the David Bowie of surface design. You have no idea how jealous I am. Thanks for posting such aewsome pix.
Dude! Kaffe Fassett is my IDOL; he's like the David Bowie of surface design. You have no idea how jealous I am. Thanks for posting such aewsome pix.
Jess said…
Thankyou all so much for sharing your enthusiasm with me for Kaffe's exhibition! He really is the King of colour and I'd recommend any book of his, they're all beautiful from front to back!
Jess xx
Red Rose Alley said…
Oh my gosh, that tree has a trunk warmer! That is the cutest thing I've seen. I LOVE that last room. It looks a bit bohemian. What a wonderful museum. It would be so nice to browse through it.

~Sheri
Karen said…
Wow! fantastic! I also love the yellow chair and yellow is not normally my colour at all. :) x
Ana M.F. said…
The tree with the pompoms ♥
I didn't know this artist, some of his work reminds me to the fabrics used in the mountains of Peru, very colorful work!

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