Gerhardt Knodel









Architectural Commissions 1977-2005


“As he saw it, textiles were the place where structure and the decorative came together.  He envisioned combining Mies van der Rohe’s International Style architecture with the sensibilities of an Afghan tent. His early work was unique in public art because it came from the perspective and practices of a maker.  All the textiles were handwoven, and they challenged preconceptions from both the craft side and the design side.   He was the first to see how panels of fabric cutting through space could relate to and expand upon architectural structure, and he was thinking back to illusions in the theater.”


Free Fall, 1977, Mylar, wool, rayon, metallic gimp, acrylic tubes, nylon cord, steel cable, 840 x 180 x 96 in. Atrium of Plaza Hotel, Renaissance Center, Detroit, Michigan



Sky Ribbons: An Oklahoma Tribute, 1978, wool, Mylar, metallic gimp, metal supports, 168 x 144 x 240 in. Alfred P. Murray Federal Building, Oklahoma City





Grand Exchange, 1981, wool, Mylar, metal, nylon, Height: 62.4 in. Cincinnati Bell of Ohio



Sky Court, 1978, wool, Mylar, nylon, Xerox World Headquarters, Stamford, Connecticut



Three Different Worlds, 1985, wool, cotton, Mylar, nylon, metal supports, neon lighting, 240 x 540 x 240 in.



Dawn’s Promise, 1996, cotton, metallic gimp, polypropylene net, 516 x 108 x 24 in. col. Arrow International, Reading, Pennsylvania



Song of Songs, 1995, architectural stained glass window and curtain of metallic gimp and polypropylene nylon, containing panels of printed, fused glass, 144 x 240 x 96 in.



Provinces of Nature, 1996, fiberglass, acrylic, stainless steel, metal supports, nylon carpet, ceiling height 336 in., carpet diameter 192 in., American Center, Southfield, Michigan




Lifelines, 1996, PVC-coated fiberglass, wool felt, polypropylene net, metal armature, 540 x 1,200 x 36 in., Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan


 
Echo of Flora Exotica, 2005, Three units, each 168 x 480 x 36 in. 
William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan








© 2023
Gerhardt Knodel