Postmodern Hilton McConnico Toulemonde Bochart Cat Rug, 1980s, France

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About the Item

Extremely rare rug by the iconic Tenessee-born artist and designer Hilton McConnico (Memphis 1943-Paris 2018) from the esteemed French house of Toulemonde Bochart, circa 1988. McConnico's rugs are included in the permanent collections of many museums throughout the world, particularly the decorative arts museums of Paris, Oslo, New York and Lausanne. Hilton McConnico grew up in Midtown Memphis Tennessee and attended Snowden Elementary School and Central High School before his family moved west to Adamsville, Tennessee, for his final year of high school. By the time he was 14, Mr. McConnico was designing and sometimes even sewing (with the help of his mother) gowns for local debutantes, the Maid of Cotton and members of the "Royal Court" of Cotton Carnival, Memphis' high-society party organization (since transformed into the more inclusive "Carnival Memphis"). After moving from West Tennessee to Paris in his early 1920s, Mr. McConnico built a career that made him one of France's most honored design artists. In 2011, he earned the country's highest honor when he was named a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur, a knight of the French Legion of Honor. Between Memphis and Paris, Mr. McConnico made a stop in New York. Traveling there after high school, he met Grace Mirabella, then an associate editor of Vogue. Following her advice, Mr. McConnico moved to Paris, to be in the international center of fashion. According to family lore, his artistic talent kept him fed even as he traveled from fashion house to fashion house, his portfolio under his arm. While trying to earn entrée into the world of haute couture, he earned money selling street art to tourists, pretending to be a deaf-mute from the provinces to cover the fact that he spoke no French. Within two years, Mr. McConnico was working for Ted Lapidus, the trend-sparking visionary who pioneered unisex fashion and created clothes for Twiggy and John Lennon. Next, Mr. McConnico began to design for Yves Saint Laurent and then Hermes, eventually branching beyond clothes to create furniture, rugs, stemware and other products, and launching his own design lines and even opening Hilton McConnico stores. Meanwhile, his art began to be exhibited internationally in galleries and museums. He became active in architectural and interior design, and produced exhibitions for such institutions as the Louvre, which added his work to its Decorative Arts permanent collection. Starting in the 1970s, Mr. McConnico entered another high-profile and celebrity-filled arts industry. As a production and costume designer for French movies, he worked on such projects as Claude Chabrol's "The Proud Ones," Truffaut's "Confidentially Yours" and the highly stylized instant cult Classic "Diva," described by critic Vincent Canby as "frightfully chic-looking." He was a three-time production design nominee for the César Award (the French equivalent of the Oscar), winning for 1984's "The Moon in the Gutter," with Gérard Depardieu and Nastassja Kinski. Since 1988, McConnico has been designing objects, combining fantasy and dream, high skill manufacturing and Industrial savoir-faire. Many manufacturers call on him : Daum, Cristalleries de Saint Louis, Toulemonde Bochart, Lampes bergere, Arthus Bertrand, Lanvin, Tissage Moutet, Paristic, Kostka, Jardin pamplemousse... Some of his design icons like the Daum Cacti and the Pepper carpets of Toulemonde Bochart are included in the permanent collections of many museums throughout the world, particularly the decorative arts museums of Paris, Oslo, New York and Lausanne. In 2005, the Sommet du luxe et de la création (international luxury and design exhibition) recognized Hilton McConnico for his entire body of work with the Talent de l’Audace award. The January 2006 Scènes d’intérieur interior design exhibition paid tribute to McConnico in a retrospective created by this multifaceted artist. He has designed major exhibitions for Hermès shown all-over the world, and created the interior design for the museum in the company's flagship buildings in Tokyo (architect: Renzo Piano) and Seoul (architect: Réna Dumas). He is also the artistic director of Galeries Lafayette Haussmann Department store windows, as well as the author of the graphism of the Crazy Horse new show’s poster. .

Creator:
Hilton McConnico (Designer),Toulemonde Bochart (Manufacturer)
Dimensions:
Width: 57 in (144.78 cm)Length: 76 in (193.04 cm)
Style:
Post-Modern (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Wool
Period:
Late 20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1980s
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. Minor fading. Good vintage condition. Minor age appropriate wear.
Seller Location:
Brooklyn, NY
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU4190314464631