Villa Noailles Revives Élise Djo-Bourgeois, Forgotten Textile Pioneer

The Villa Noailles in Hyères is presenting 'Élise Djo-Bourgeois. Sur le fil', an exhibition running from April 29 to June 16, 2019, that resurrects the overlooked figure of Élise Djo-Bourgeois (1894-1986), a textile designer whose abstract, geometric works bridged Art Deco and geometric abstraction. Curated by Stéphane Boudin-Lestienne and Alexandre Mare, the show features fabrics, carpets, curtains, and upholstery that anticipate later modernist design. Djo-Bourgeois worked largely in the shadow of her husband, architect and decorator Georges Bourgeois (Djo-Bourgeois, 1898-1937), known for his austere modernism. After his early death, most of his work was destroyed, including the Villa Lahy in Saint-Clair. Élise's career emerged from a formal exchange with her husband: she brought color to his furniture, while he inspired her geometric rigor. Her designs evolved from soft rectangles and polygons to sharp triangles, vivid colors, curves, and chevrons, culminating in wave patterns inspired by Mediterranean maritime signals. Her work was industrially produced by Metz & Co. in Amsterdam and Maurice Lauer. During her brief active period, she was compared to Sonia Delaunay and cited in modernist circles. She abandoned her career after her husband's death to care for their disabled son. The exhibition is richly documented with fabric samples, period photographs, and reprints of curtains, and is accompanied by a catalog published by AAM Editions and Villa Noailles.