lace pedestrian crossings by studio ooms (guido ooms and karin van lieshout)

new design possibilities offered by translucent lines of thread. the belgian city bruges has traditionally been one of the world’s great lace- making centers, and the city has set a new breeding ground for all the very latest lace trends and ideas. the exhibition ‘the face of lace’ was held until march 1st, 2009 and was a four month celebration of contemporary art, design and fashion, which highlighted the many facets of this most fascinating material.

more and more young artists and designers are unashamedly using lace in their patterns and themes. they have discovered the true beauty of lace: the richness of its transparency, the fluidity of it silken lines and the delicate interplay between ornamentation and structure. with new techniques and new materials, they have given lace new meaning.

lace once again has its own place in contemporary culture. on show were works of art, design ornaments and fashion concepts related to lace, displayed throughout the length and breadth of bruges – both indoors and outdoors. these pieces created a fascinating dialogue with the city’s ancient buildings, streets and canals, as well as with historic works of lace selected from the collections of the city’s museums.

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgium 5 shovels and wheelbarrow by cal lane, shown at volkskunde museum

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgiumdetail

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgium‘the rendez-vous II’ by noëlle cuppens, shown at the gezellemuseum (unfortunately this work has been removed due to damage)

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgiumdetail

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgium‘lace map XL’ by chris kabel

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgiumdetail

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgium lace fence’ by joep & jeroen verhoeven van demakersvan shown at St.janshuismolen

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgium

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgiumdetail

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgiumplaygrounds by alphons ter avest

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgiumplaygrounds by alphons ter avest, chalklines in grassfield

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgiumlace paving slabs by jethro macey

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgium‘antik russian denim’ carpet by michaela schleypers, shown at bruggemuseum-gezelle

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgium‘crochet chair’ by marcel wanders, shown at gruuthusemuseum

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgium‘frank’ by marcel wanders

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgium

‘shady lace’ parasol by chris kabel for droog design

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgiumdetail

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgiumlace curtains by d’hanis & lachaert, shown at bruggemuseum

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgiumdetail

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgiumthonet-laces using model 10 and 11, by Pablo Reinoso, shown in the Gruuthuse

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgiumthonet-lace using model 10

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgiumvideo still of movie thoneteando

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgium‘diamond chair’ by nendo

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgium‘link’ easy chair (left) by tom dixon and various other lace chairs on show

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgiumlace floor decoration at the opening of the kantlijnen show

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgiumdetail

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgiumthe making of lace floor decoration at the opening of the kantlijnen show

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgiuman image from the catwalk of the various fashion shows © sightwaysphotography

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgiumdetail of a portrait of the aartshertogin isabella by frans pourbus de jonge, 17th century, replica at the groeningemuseum

kantlijnen or 'the face of lace', design exhibition in bruges, belgiumkantlijnen light projection

the organization of the face of lace has been entrusted to musea brugge and brugge plus. the exhibits have been chosen by project curators hanneke kamphuis and hedwig van onna. more info http://www.kantlijnen.be