Danish Textile Prints

Full of vivid patterns and lively designs, this compact clothbound gem is a delightful journey through Danish fabric prints from the 1920s to the present

The distinct craft of textile printing has played a significant role in defining the internationally renowned Danish modernism movement. Beyond playing with colors and repeating motifs, textile printing is also a tradition that embraces poetry and humor. This volume tells the story of the craft’s diversity, highlighting its rich history and artistic significance. At the beginning of the 20th century, the craft of printing on fabric had nearly been forgotten in Denmark. However, by the late 1920s, it was revived as an artisanal practice, primarily a women’s craft--something it largely remains today.
The techniques of textile printing allow for the creation of a vast array of patterns and motifs. These countless possibilities are evident in many everyday items, from clothing to furniture. This handsome, clothbound book explores the history and techniques of the craft, spanning from the early attempts of Danish artisans to transfer patterns and motifs using printing blocks to screenprinting, still practiced in independent workshops, as well as digital prints produced either industrially or on a jet-ink printer.
Based on the extensive collection of printed fabrics from the Designmuseum Danmark, the book highlights a wide range of modernist textile printers, including Marie Gudme Leth, Helga Foght, Ruth Hull, Dorte Raaschou, Ingeborg Cock-Clausen, Axel Salto and Grete Ehs stergaard, alongside more recent works by a selection of contemporary textile artists.
Kirsten Toftegaard is the head of the fashion and textile collection at Designmuseum Danmark.