The exhibition also examines the impact of that period on Zeisel's later production and presents pieces designed after the 1984 retrospective of her work at the Musée des arts décoratifs de Montréal.
Zeisel's early work came to an abrupt halt in 1936, when while in the Soviet Union she was arrested on trumped-up charges of conspiring to assassinate Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. Zeisel was imprisoned for sixteen months, spending most of that time in solitary confinement. After her release in 1937, she fled, only steps ahead of the Nazis, first to Vienna and then to England.
In 1938 Zeisel immigrated to the United States, where her work on various projects became the subject of the first one-woman show at the Museum of Modern Art. “Instead of severe functionalism, Zeisel's work features abundant curving, natural shapes that are playful, yet familiar,” notes Frederick J. Fisher, Hillwood's executive director.
The exhibition at Hillwood, organized by the Knoxville Museum of Art, features significant objects that were not previously displayed at Knoxville or Milwaukee. Color-Ad artfully graced this collection with the dignity it deserves by incorporating pedestals richly covered in fine silk, customized lighting and artifact casings which highlight the subtleties and organic beauty of the curvaceous designs. Strategically placed wall mounted interpretive panels and high resolution digital graphics enhance the soft appeal of the overall exhibit.
