The Mad Silkman: Zika & Lida Ascher Textiles and Fashion

June 3 – October 8, 2023

June 3 - October 8, 2023

Smith Gallery

An exhibition curated by Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague and created in cooperation with Peter Ascher, National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, and Czech Centres in New York.

The Ascher name and brand have been synonymous with fine textile design for more than seventy years. The exhibition traces the story of Zika Ascher and his wife Lida, long forgotten in the Czech Republic, whose personal and professional lives played out against the dramatic history of the 20th century. After leaving Czechoslovakia in 1939, they built a highly successful enterprise that specialized in printed fashion fabrics in London. French, Italian, and British designers and fashion houses chose Ascher textiles for their collections, including Christian Dior, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Lanvin-Castillo, Pierre Cardin, Y. S. Laurent, Ronald Paterson, David Sassoon and Alberto Fabiani. Lida and Zika were especially celebrated for their Squares, a collection of luxurious printed scarves designed by famous artists such as Henry Moore, Henri Matisse, and André Derain.

This exhibit is being lent by the Ascher Family Archive in the United States.

Sponsored by: BetterLife, Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, and the City of Cedar Rapids Hotel-Motel Tax.

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