CANVAS TO RUNWAY
Designers are constantly inspired by the wonderful things they surround themselves with and Yves Saint Laurent was no different. The legendary ‘Le Smoking’ maestro drew from the Majorelle Blue walls of Morocco, the sandy dunes of the great Sahara, and most famously, the colour-blocked abstract works of Piet Mondrian.
Marking the 70th anniversary of the talented artist’s death, the Tate Liverpool gives us an insight into Mondrian’s relationship with architecture and urbanism, his passion for abstract art, and his contribution to the continued development of modern thought. ‘Mondrian And His Studios’ shines the spotlight on a reconstructed model of his studio at 26 Rue du Départ, Paris, which will allow visitors to physically inhabit the artist’s unique environment that he himself created.
Influenced by Cubism as well as the creative freedom of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, Mondrian’s work from 1911 onwards (after his move to Paris) changed with the increasing appearance of geometric shapes. But Cubism was just part of his artistic journey; his creations morphed into abstract shapes and colours to express beauty, visible at the exhibition today through a diverse group of key abstract paintings. ‘Mondrian And His Studios’ is on until October 5 at the Tate Liverpool, UK. www.tate.org.uk/liverpool