BERNAT KLEIN

The Bernat Klein exhibition at the  Dovecot Gallery in Edinburgh has ended. It was a pleasure to see this retrospective devoted to the work of such a remarkable designer who sadly passed away last year.One could  see samples of his  multi-coloured yarns, some of the tapestries he made in collaboration with the Dovecot and some of the oil paintings he made whilst developing his  textile designs. He had a remarkable life-from Yugoslavia to Israel to Galashiels he followed his vocation in textiles with great determination and originality.

Bernat Klein Dress:Polyester, 1969 V&A. Not shown.

Detail from Bernat Klein painting. This one was in the exhibition and seems to relate to the dress shown above.

Bernat Klein painting-as shown

The paintings were mostly very attractive and the tie-in with the textiles obvious at a glance. The colour is rich,clean and luminous. It is obvious that the paintings have been cared for and it is delightful to see that some have been sold.

Bernat Klein painting as shown.

Published by Bernat Klein Scotland with Collins,
London 1965. (The colophon says that Collins were the distributors)

Double page spread from "An Eye for Colour" Showing on the left a painting "Seascape" and don the right the cloth known as "Velvet Tweed"-with a velvet ribbon for the warp and one of the multi-coloured yarns for the weft.

I first heard of  Bernat Klein, An Eye for Colour when my local library bought a copy. It wasn't that I had much interest in textiles or knowledge of them but here was a nicely produced book with lots of good colour illustrations and excellent typography. From what I later learned of Klein this could be no surprise. It was immediately obvious that he wanted quality in whatever he produced. In a word, the book stood out and was immensely attractive in itself. This was something to be treasured way back in the 1960s. There were numerous colour illustrations and of course I was delighted to find that Klein shared my fascination with Seurat. He names him as one of the inspirations of his multi coloured wool fibres and textiles.I cannot pretend that I read the book from cover to cover on first acquaintance. I did that a few years ago when I bought my own copy and my respect for the man increased considerably.


Klein's archives exist at Herriot-Watt's border campus (14 linear metres) and this PDF gives an idea of the range of items. For a sketch of his career and further illustrations  this item will be very helpful.You can see textile samples at the National Museum of Scotland here. The NMS will eventually be opening a gallery which will include Klein's work.