Art Goes to Your Head at the Ruth Funk Center Through Aug. 21

MELBOURNE, FLA.—Florida Institute of Technology’s Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts showcases art scarves with its new exhibit, Styling the Modern: Fine Art Meets Fashion, from May 8 to Aug. 21. The only textiles center in the state of Florida will feature limited edition screen-printed scarves created by the famous London-based Ascher textile workshop.

The exhibit will feature 41 scarves designed by well-known artists of the 1940s, including Cecil Beaton, Alexander Calder, Jean Cocteau, Henri Matisse and Henry Moore. The Aschers were among the first textile companies to invite Modernist artists to design wearable fabrics, thus breaking boundaries between the worlds of fine art and fashion. The scarves, referred to as “Ascher Squares” because they are all 3-feet square, are now rare and coveted by collectors around the world.

The silk scarves also became popular as skirts, turbans and wraps, inspiring other designers such as Christian Dior to incorporate Ascher fabrics in their collections. Pieces from the Aschers have dressed the likes of the Queen of England and Princess Diana. Two dresses designed with the artists’ fabrics printed by the Aschers will also be included in the exhibit.

Styling the Modern: Fine Art Meets Fashion was organized and curated by guest curator Shanna Shelby from the Collection of Jill A. Wiltse and H. Kirk Brown III.

The Ruth Funk Center is open Tuesday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday, from noon to 4 p.m. It is located on the Florida Tech campus in Melbourne at 150 W. University Blvd. Admission to the exhibit is free.

For more information, visit http://textiles.fit.edu, or contact Carla Funk at (321) 674-8313, or cfunk@fit.edu.