Sidewall, Broadway

A gift of five yards of the Broadway pattern from the Boym Partners’ first wallpaper collection, Recollections. The collection was inspired by the Boym’s travels and this trompe l’oeil pattern of drapery folds was inspired by the curtains in Broadway theaters. The design creates a strong vertical pattern and is rendered in a minimal fashion. The Boym’s aesthetic can be understated, creating a strong graphic or sculptural presence, always with a bit of wit and humor thrown in.

Constantin Boym studied design and architecture before founding Boym Partners in 1986. Laurene became a partner in the firm in 1995 after studying visual arts and industrial design. Laurene was a Designer-in-Residence at the Cooper Hewitt in 1993, and together with Constantin designed the installation for the museum's "Mechanical Brides" exhibition. The Boym Partners were finalists in the 2005 National Design Awards in the field of Product Design, and were the winners in this category in 2009. They have also received other awards including the Annual Design Awards by ID Magazine. The Boym’s have created tableware for Alessi, watches for Swatch, and lighting for Flos, as well as products for Cooper Hewitt's shop.

Cooper Hewitt has been collecting wallcoverings by National Design Award winners including designs by David Rockwell, 2x4, and Jack Lenor Larsen. Aside from the category of NDA winners this pattern works well in a number of other groupings including trompe l’oeil designs, drapery papers, and works by contemporary American studios.

Cooper Hewitt’s collection contains a number of wallcoverings produced by Wolf-Gordon, including designs by Karim Rashid, Petra Blaisse, and the recently acquired Groethe Sorensen. Wolf-Gordon is an American company founded in 1967, producing wallcoverings mostly for the commercial market.

Sidewall, Broadway; Designed by Boym Partners (United States), Laurene Leon Boym (American, b. 1964), Constantin Boym (Russian, active USA, b. 1955); Manufactured by Wolf-Gordon Inc. (United States); rotogravure printed on vinyl; L x W: 457.2 × 132.1 cm (15 ft. × 52 in.); Gift of Wolf-Gordon Inc.; 2015-33-3