Color Decoded: The Textiles of Richard Landis

American designer Richard Landis is a master colorist and weaver whose visual language is that of an abstract artist.

What is this?

American designer Richard Landis is a master colorist and weaver whose visual language is that of an abstract artist.

We know 23 items that are featured in this video.

A rectangular weaving with a plaid-like pattern of variously-sized blue, brown, orange, grey, and white shaded rectangles. The lines of the textile intersect quadratically, creating the variously sized rectangles. The pattern is akin to an abstract quadratically-geometric stained glass window.

Textile, Cathedral, 1976
mercerized cotton double weave.
Frederick and Frances Sommer Foundation.
64.2017.2

There are 2 images and 2 videos of this object.

Textile, Nucleus
cotton.
Museum purchase from Friends of Textiles Fund.
1978-102-1

This object is part of the Textiles collection.
There are 4 images of this object.

A rectangular weaving with an abstract geometric pattern of small rectanges, with an overlying grid, in shades of muted tan, lilac, black, white, and vibrant pink. The white and tan squares stand out to create the illusion of an alternate gradient pattern within the weaving. The lilac and pink squares occupy only a few punctuating strips of color that run vertical and horizontal in the weaving's pattern.

Textile, Annunciation, 1983
mercerized cotton double weave.
Anonymous.
62.2017.1

There are 2 images and 1 video of this object.

A gridded pattern of pixelated shapes depicting various muted tones of cyan, magenta, and yellow. From a distance, the colors seem to combine and become blurry, however at close inspection thin, multicolored threads intertwine to establish the pattern.

Textile, Campo di Fiori, 1976
mercerized cotton double weave.
Gift of Richard Landis.
2018-15-1

There are 2 images and 1 video of this object.

Presented as a rectangular composition, thin thread of brown, blue, red and orange tones are woven throughout the textile. Pixelated chapes are created by the variation of the many colors.

Textile, Cluster, 1979
mercerized cotton double weave.
Richard Landis.
63.2017.2

There are 2 images and 1 video of this object.

Textile, Sevens
mercerized cotton double weave.
Richard Landis.
63.2017.3

There are 2 images and 1 video of this object.

A rectangular textile comprised of smaller brown, orange, blue, grey, and yellow-colored rectangles of various sizes The different sizes and varying shades of each rectangle create an overall wave-like 3-D effect in the textile, as if there were vertical strips of the textile that curved and protruded in a speed-bump fashion lengthwise in the piece.

Textile, Nines, 1995
mercerized cotton double weave.
Gift of Richard Landis.
2018-15-2

There are 2 images and 1 video of this object.

A square-shaped weaving with a gradient plaid-like pattern in shades of blue, orange, brown, and grey. The gradience starts at the bottom left of the weaving, fading a series of light blue rectangles to a darker blue, and repeating this again as it stretches to the upper right of the weaving. The colors are all muted and earth-toned.

Textile, Signal, 1977
mercerized cotton double weave.
Richard Landis.
63.2017.5

There are 2 images and 1 video of this object.

A rectangular textile comprised of smaller orange, yellow, grey, blue, and red-colored rectangles of various sizes. An asymmetrical radiating, pixel-like, and almost psychedelic effect is achieved through the differing sizes and shades of every rectangle.

Textile, Untitled, 1982
mercerized cotton double weave.
Gift of Richard Landis.
2018-15-3

There are 2 images and 1 video of this object.

A rectangular textile comprised of smaller blue, brown, grey, and rust-colored rectangles of various sizes. Thinner rectangles frame the longer 2 sides of every thicker rectangle, a pattern that repeats throughout the entirety of the textile. Different hues of each color repeat in a scattered fashion throughout the textile, with none of the same colors sharing a rectangular side.

Textile, Landis Shift, 1971
linen double weave.
Richard Landis.
63.2017.8

There are 2 images and 1 video of this object.

A rectangular weaving with an abstract geometric pattern of small rectanges and an overlying grid in shades of warm and cool tan, brown, grey, and white. The size of the rectangles vary in a pattern that sees no two rectangles of the same size sharing a side; their differnt lengths and widths vary greatly throughout the weaving. The darker-toned rectangles contrasted with the lighter-toned ones create an abstract pixel grid effect on the textile. A warm hue of light brown is the predominant color compared to the strips of gray rectangles throughout the piece.

Textile, Close Tone Study, 1975
mercerized cotton double weave.
Richard Landis.
63.2017.9

There are 2 images and 1 video of this object.

Textile, Gold Wool, Full Warp
wool double weave.
Richard Landis.
63.2017.10

There are 2 images and 1 video of this object.

Drawing, Nucleus
color pencil on paper.
Richard Landis.
63.2017.11

There are 2 images and 1 video of this object.

Program Drawing To Determine The Alignment Of Full Tones

Program Drawing To Determine The Alignment Of Full Tones
color pencil on paper.
Richard Landis.
63.2017.12

There are 2 images and 1 video of this object.

Program Drawings
color pencil on paper, mounted on board.
Richard Landis.
63.2017.13

There are 2 images and 1 video of this object.

Textile, Blue + Gold, Full Warp
mercerized cotton double weave.
Richard Landis.
63.2017.14

There are 2 images and 1 video of this object.

A rectangular weaving comprised of repeating rectangles in shades of brown, grey, and white. The focal point are the group of white rectangles in the center that are overlaid with brown and grey. Four smaller focal points of white rectangles occupy each corner of the weaving, again overlaid brown and grey.

Textile, Red + Green, 1987
mercerized cotton double weave.
Gift of Richard Landis.
2018-15-5

There are 2 images and 1 video of this object.

A horizontally-rectangular weaving consisting of rectangles in various sizes in shades of brown, grey, green, lilac, yellow, blue, pink, tan, and white. The textile is predominantly earth-toned in color, with the more vibrant lilac, yellow, blue, and pink rectangles seen in smaller strips interspersed throughout the overall pattern. The pattern of rectangles runs mostly horizontal save for a few thin vertical strips that acheive an optical illusion of protruding from the textile; this is done by splitting each strip into three smaller strips, each strip a series of differently-shaded rectangles that appear as two sides and then the top of a protruding pole. There are three thin 'poles' that section the textile evenly, with a fourth pole all the way on the right of the textile comprised of squares instead of rectangles and three times the size of the other poles. Each pole is comprised mainly of non-earth toned rectangles.

Textile, Fourth Dimension, 1986
mercerized cotton double weave.
Richard Landis.
63.2017.16

There are 2 images and 1 video of this object.

Textile, Apollo
mercerized cotton double weave.
Gift of Richard Landis.
2018-15-6

There are 2 images and 1 video of this object.

Textile, Toned Rectangles
mercerized cotton double weave.
Richard Landis.
63.2017.18

There are 2 images and 1 video of this object.

Textile, Cathedral, 1976
mercerized cotton double weave.
Frederick and Frances Sommer Foundation.
64.2017.2

There are 2 images and 2 videos of this object.

Textile, Full Tone/ Half Tone Blocks
mercerized cotton double weave.
Frederick and Frances Sommer Foundation.
64.2017.1

There are 2 images and 1 video of this object.

$A rectangular textile comprised of smaller tan, cream, blue, and brown-colored rectangles of various sizes. The pattern is even and symmetrical both vertically and horizontally. No two rectangles of the same color share a side. The blue rectangles are a fraction of the size of the rest of the rectangles, making this textile appear overall brown-colored. The repeating tan and cream-colored rectangles are most emphasized at the center of the textile with the darker tans and browns comprising more of the border, creating a central gradient effect in the textile.$

Textile, Jewels, 1984
mercerized cotton double weave.
Mark and Sara Hayden.
61.2017.2

There are 2 images and 1 video of this object.