New York City
Mary Bright Studio

Architectonic draperies by the Mary Bright Studio give new meaning to the phrase "curtain wall"

English Is Italian Restaurant; Photo © Peter Page

By William Weathersby, Jr.

"I respect people who hate curtains," the late designer Mary Bright was fond of saying. She was probably counting among that crowd most architects, who have the notorious reputation of hating any hint of draped fabric clouding the view of their pristine curtain walls (particularly in architectural photographs—you know who you are). But before she died of cancer in November 2002 at the age of 48, Bright had turned the trade of curtain-making into an architectonic art. Shaping natural fabrics like linen and burlap—along with unorthodox materials such as corrugated paper, metal mesh, rubber, or leather—into layered screens or tailored folds, she employed drapery as a way to explore the edge between interior and exterior space.

Recalled fondly by many as a kind of madcap genius of window covering with a penchant for quips and comic mugging, the Edinburgh-born Bright began her eclectic New York career as a milliner in the East Village. After an initial invitation by interior designer Alan Buchsbaum to design a voluptuous 60-foot curtain for the loft of actress Ellen Barkin in 1983, she went on to build a roster of celebrity clients, such as Bette Midler and Lauren Bacall. Soon she was attracting architectural clients, including Smith-Miller + Hawkinson; Diller + Scofidio; Hanrahan Meyers; Christian Liaigre; and ARO. Museum of Modern Art curator Terry Riley, who hired Bright to design drapery panels for the 2001 Mies van der Rohe exhibition, cited her "poetry of building" and the beautiful outcome of her "strange and obsessive love" for tailoring.

Want the full story? Read the entire article in our June 2005 issue.
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Custom drapery design and fabrication
Mary Bright Studio

Projects**

English Is Italian (formerly Tuscan Steak)
Architect: Jeffrey Beers International
Fabrics: Pollack Studio

Viñoly Residence
Designer: Diana Viñoly
Fabrics: white nylon ripstop parachute cloth

Barcelona Video Theater, MoMA
Designer: Proun Studio
Fabrics: Knoll Textiles

Perry Street Residence
Architect: Steven Learner Studio
Fabrics: Bergamo; Rogers & Goffigon; Chapas Textiles for AM Collections

**To view each of the projects listed, see the article in our June 2005 issue.