Musica Viva Spreads
2016
Quilts, 9 unique pieces
120 × 160 cm
Malmö Konstmuseum, 2019-2020. Photo: Helene Toresdotter
Artissima, 2016. Photo: Renato Ghiazza

Musica Viva Spreads
By Hicham Khalidi

Musica Viva Spreads comprises nine handmade quilts based on layouts from Musica Viva magazine's first issue (1936). The works translate the magazine's multilingual format into colour-coded abstract compositions: orange for English, green for French, red for German, and blue for Italian. Founded by my grandfather, German conductor Hermann Scherchen as a resistance to Nazi nationalist cultural policies, this avant-garde music journal published three issues in multiple languages. The quilts blend geometric imagery with functional design, and can be arranged individually or combined into larger compositions on the wall, hanging from the ceiling, or on the floor.