CHICAGO – CB2 has launched its new Ackerman Modern collection that features original patterns and designs from legends Evelyn and Jerome Ackerman. The collection includes pieces designed by Evelyn and Jerome both individually and as partners, spanning more than 60 years of work between 1948 and 2012.
The Ackermans join CB2’s roster of Design Legends, which began with a Paul McCobb collection in 2021 and has since expanded to include reissued designs from Clara Porset, Robert Wengler and Gianfranco Frattini. The design philosophy of the Ackerman’s combines midcentury and Bauhaus influences, emphasizing the importance of both fine and applied arts and exploring different uses of material, pattern, color and proportion.
Daughter Laura Ackerman-Shaw made the decision to work with CB2 on reissuing her parents iconic pieces.
Textiles by the Ackermans exemplify their deep knowledge of fine art, traditional craft and design, according to CB2, with the original tapestries created in 1966 serving as the basis for the design of the Liminal and Stria pillows, which are woven from a 66% silk blend.
Their work came to shape the California Midcentury design style, but the Ackermans drew from a variety of sources and time periods, according to their daughter.
The Lejon Wool Throw blanket was inspired by medieval art and tapestries, is woven of fine merino wool and is fully reversible. It’s based on an original drawing by Evelyn and Jerome Ackerman that was included in a 1959 wall hanging and retails for $149.
Other key pieces include:
Autumn Trees Black Wool tapestry – Based on an original 1963 design by Evelyn Ackerman, the tapestry was reissued in a woven format and retails for $399.
The Tovek Gray Terracotta vase, which retails for $79.95, features Jerome Ackerman’s pattern design with an updated vase shape designed by Laura Ackerman-Shaw.
The Ellipses Hand-Knotted Wool rug is based on an original 1958 design by Evelyn Ackerman, which was originally featured as a mosaic, and retails for between $599 and $1,299.
The Labyrinth Handwoven rug is based on an original tapestry designed by Evelyn Ackerman in 1969 and retails for between $499 and $1,299.
The Aerial View Hand-Knotted rug was inspired by an aerial view of a crop field. The rug is based on a tapestry that Jerome Ackerman drew on a napkin when he was flying over the fields in California. It retails for between $799 and $2,899.