Skip to content
Exhibition

Alexander Girard

Vibrant Modern
October 14, 2006–February 25, 2007

As director of the Herman Miller textile division from 1952 to 1973, Alexander Girard brought a passion for ethnic motifs and extravagantly bright colors to the clean, streamlined aesthetic that dominated mid-century design. Girard and his colleagues Charles Eames and George Nelson formed a team that transformed the legacy of American modernism. Girard’s aesthetic, once iconoclastic, continues to inspire contemporary designers today. Alexander Girard: Vibrant Modern features a selection of Girard’s lively, bold designs from the SFMOMA collection, including textiles designed for Herman Miller in the 1960s and works created for La Fonda del Sol Restaurant in New York.

This exhibition is made possible, in part, by Herman Miller for the Home.

Alexander Girard, La Fonda Chair, 1961; (chair: Charles and Ray Eames; upholstery: Alexander Girard, in "Miller Stripe" fabric); collection SFMOMA, Accessions Committee Fund