ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Vera Neumann (b. 1907, Stamford, Conn.; d. 1993, North Tarrytown, N.Y.) is heralded as a revolutionary icon of American design and brand development, as well as one of the most successful entrepreneurs of her time. Neumann painted daily throughout her business career, with her works translating graphically into everyday objects. Neumann graduated from Cooper Union with a degree in fine arts in 1928 and attended the Traphagen School of Design in the 1930s. She launched the textile manufacturing company Printex in 1942 and founded her namesake company Vera Industries in 1947 with her advertising executive husband, George, overseeing a staff of 200 to produce 130 patterns per season. In 1972, it was estimated that 90% of all households in the U.S. owned a Vera design. Neumann was the first designer to register her works with the Library of Congress and the first American to manufacture her designs in China. She holds 8,750 copyrights, which continue to be licensed today. Neumann’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York; the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science; Alexander Gray Gallery, New York; and the Museum of Arts and Design, New York. Her designs are represented in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Goldstein Museum of Design, St. Paul, Minn.; and the Davis Museum at Wellesley College, Mass., among others.
Established in 2013, Massif Central is a New York-based company that produces silk and silk-blend scarves by contemporary artists. Interested in the trajectory of traditional French silk scarf-making, Massif Central is named after the region in France where the art form originated. Massif Central partners with a diverse group of contemporary artists — including Joshua Abelow, Trudy Benson, Ellen Berkenblit, Katherine Bradford, Holly Coulis, Ann Craven, Julia Dault, Ted Gahl, Sayre Gomez, Henry Gunderson, Peter Halley, Rashid Johnson, Kaws, Jonathan Lasker, Chris Lux, Chris Martin, Eddie Martinez, Keegan McHargue, William J. O’Brien, Tal R, Ed Ruscha, David Shrigley, Josh Smith, Pablo Tomek, and Jonas Wood — to create a dynamic and distinct collection of high-end silk artworks, devoted to the pursuit of the individual artist’s vision. Each artist’s design is produced in an edition of 50, 100, 150, or 500 and executed in both classic and modern sizes with handsewn hems and hand-numbered labels. Massif Central’s mission continues to grow from an interest in blurring the lines between modern design, timeless fashion, and contemporary art-making methodologies.
