For the first time since 1972 Alexander Girard’s iconic graphics are now available as wall art, screened onto 14″x14″ panels of Columbia’s formaldehyde-free maple faced hardwood plywood.
Alexander Girard Plyprints
The PLYprints program draws on Girard’s history of printing directly on wood in such places as the Compound restaurant in Santa Fe.
Eight of Alexander Girard’s classic designs are available on 14″ x 14″ plywood panels, including two NEW designs: Old Sun and New Sun. Each graphic panel features an iconic Alexander Girard image hand screen-printed with water-based inks on a US-made sustainably-harvested maple plywood panel.
All PLYprints include hanging hardware and have a spacer on the back that allows the panel to float off the wall. The vibrant artworks mix bold colors with the natural graining of the real wood veneers. The wood panels are responsibly made with Columbia Forest Products’ soy-based, formaldehyde free PureBond® technology to create a safe and green wood based product for your home.
Three more of Girard’s classic designs are available on larger 16″ x 20″ plywood panels, with wall hanging hardware included. This new size makes a bigger design statement with the same sustainable properties as the smaller wall hangings.
A “Give Love” gift set of six 3″ x 3″ blocks is also available, all with Girard’s iconic “LOVE” design screened in red. Break up the set and “give love” to everyone you love. Alexander Girard (1907 – 1993) created iconic mid-century modern designs for such companies as Herman Miller and Braniff International Airways. His work married the timeless lines of the modern with the playfulness and bold color of Latin American folk art.
The estate chose to work with Columbia Forest Products because PureBond is the only widely available cost-neutral formaldehyde-free plywood panel. Girard had a long history of environmental concerns, especially about pollution, and PureBond technology offers a way to mitigate indoor air problems by eliminating the risk of toxic and carcinogenic VOC’s that can be released by composite wood panels made with urea formaldehyde resins.
About Columbia Forest Products:
Founded in 1957, Columbia Forest Products is North America’s largest manufacturer of hardwood plywood and hardwood veneer, a leader in sustainable forestry, and innovator of formaldehyde-free PureBond technology.
Columbia’s decorative interior veneers and panels are used in cabinetry, furniture, architectural millwork and commercial fixtures. Employee-owned and based in Greensboro, North Carolina, Columbia employs more than 2,000 and operates facilities throughout the United States and Canada, and an operational network which spans the globe.
The PLYprints concept was developed in cooperation with Eric Pfeiffer of PfeifferLab, a San Francisco-based design and branding studio. PfeifferLab relies on Eric’s penchant for simplicity of form to create useful and elegant solutions for everyday living. It’s this pure design ethos, coupled with a casual sensibility that results in timeless objects rooted in a deep understanding of materials and message.
Learn more here.
UPDATE 2015: Sadly, these are no longer being made nor are they available.