Lace in Translation, a show currently running at the Design Center at Philadelphia University is a new exhibition of contemporary work that explores the intersection of luxurious hand-craftsmanship with modern, mass production.

The Design Center’s historic, and extensive, Quaker Lace Company collection was the inspiration for three internationally-renowned artists and designers reconsidering conventional notions of lace.

Tord Boontje, (perhaps quite at home with the delicate nature of lace given his penchant for intricate laser cut-outs...) Dutch design house Demakersvan, and Canadian artist Cal Lane have all created installations specifically for The Design Centre’s unique and intimate space - a 1950s era, Hollywood-style ranch house, situated on the edge of Fairmount Park.

From the intricacy of a handwoven raffia curtain, to the industrial art forms of laser-cut fabrics, a welded filigree oil tank, and a lace chain-link fence, Lace in Translation plays with the concept of lace, utilising unexpected materials and new technologies to transform the Center’s grounds and galleries.