Anni Albers Exhibition, Tate Modern

Anni Albers (1899-1994) was a textile artist who began her training and career with the German Bauhaus art school in the 1920s and 30s. With her husband, artist Josef Albers, she emigrated to the US in 1933 after the closure of the Bauhaus by the Nazis. She continued teaching and taking on commissions, spreading ideas about modernism and abstraction in art and design.

Nearly all Anni’s designs have a strong geometric foundation. The Tate exhibition begins with the most linear pieces of work, featuring rectangles of various scales and proportions. Subsequently, this rigidity gives way to a plethora of diagonal and flowing lines, and the use of triangles or other angular shapes in positive and negative. The weaving itself uses very fine threads, sometimes incorporating metallic materials or other shiny strips such as cellophane. Anni’s later style evolved from patterns into ‘pictorials’, which were influenced by her South American travels and ancient codices. 

Until next time my creative crew,

Joanna

Some of my favourites: