Book Description

Architect, designer and world traveler, Serge Gladky was a major figure in the rise of the modernist aesthetic and the decorative style known as Art Deco. In that style, he created a series of compositions widely regarded as among the most inspired and innovative in modem design. Among them are intricate lattice works of geometric inspired motifs, bizarre compositions containing surreal animals and images, bold abstracts, mysterious collages of symbolic forms and shapes, whimsical Cubist-flavored constructions resembling heads, and much more. This beautiful volume, faithfully reprinted in glowing full color from rare original French portfolios, contains over 60 of Gladky's finest designs. A landmark achievement in the evolution of a great international design style, the patterns are now available for the first time to artists and craftspeople for copyright-free use in design and craft projects. Because of Gladky's far-ranging travels and studies throughout Asia and Eastern Europe, his designs and use of color brought a new and potent exoticism to the essentially Western European, Paris-centered Art Deco aesthetic. His striking originality and innovative conceptions are on display here, ready to delight and inspire artists, illustrators and craftspeople, who will find Gladky's work one of the most imaginative and beautifully wrought achievements in 20th-century design.