The human perception of color is a complex sensory phenomenon filtered through the eyes, brain, language and multiple layers of social experience. While shades of red (examined in the 2007 Textile Museum exhibition RED) quicken the pulse and increase blood pressure, blue induces a calming effect and is widely perceived as a “cool,” tranquil color.

The Finishing Touch: Accessories from the Bolivian Highlands, on view at The Textile Museum February 15 through September 18, 2008, invites visitors to explore the liveliness and diversity of the region’s woven and knitted textiles. The Museum’s first new exhibition of 2008, The Finishing Touch features a charming group of belts, bags and other accessories made and used by the indigenous people of the Bolivian highlands.

Vienna was a center of creative activity between 1897 and 1932 with the emergence of the Secession and the Wiener Werkstätte. These artists' associations were intended to challenge the prevailing conservative and historicizing tendencies of many Vienna artists and exhibitions.

Complementing and expanding ideas from all three fall exhibitions at The Textile Museum, conference explores the history and current state of collecting from different perspectives.

Join The Textile Museum in celebrating the splendor of turn-of-the-century Vienna, Austria in Textiles of Klimt’s Vienna, on view through January 6, 2008. Experience the vibrant art and social scene of Vienna at the dawn of the 20th century, led by painter Gustav Klimt and other artists, through the display of original material and photographs.

An upcoming exhibition at The Textile Museum traces the growth and interests of its founder, George Hewitt Myers, as a pioneering collector and connoisseur. Ahead of His Time: The Collecting Vision of George Hewitt Myers will be on view September 28, 2007 – February 17, 2008.

An upcoming exhibition at The Textile Museum, Private Pleasures: Collecting Contemporary Textile Art, provides unique insight into why Washingtonians collect contemporary textile art and what objects they are inspired to collect.