7 min read1 Anni Albers – With Verticals, 1946, cotton and linen, 154.9 x 118.1 cm
Introduction
Anni Albers1 was a well known German textile artist and prominent printmaker. She is perhaps one of the most well-known print artists of the 20th century. Albers dared to go where no textile designer had gone before, which in part helped to launch her designs into popularity.
Born in Berlin2, Albers became a student of the Bauhaus3 in Weimar which is where she met and married Josef Albers4.
Albers, sometimes with help from her husband, managed to blur traditional boundaries between craft and art. Albers blended her talent as a painter, designer, artist, and teacher to create a highly successful career that lasted over 60 years.
2 Anni Albers with textile samples in her home in New Haven, Connecticut, ca. 19503 Anni Albers – Work in progress. Experimenting. 1950 – 19624 Anni Albers – Two, 1952, linen, cotton, and rayon 1: Black-White-Gold I, 1950. Cotton, jute and metallic ribbon. 2: Haiku, 1961, Plain weave alternating metallic and hemp with supplementary wefts of black and white cotton and silver. 3: Code, 1962, Photo Offset5 Anni Albers – Tikal, 1958, Cotton, 30 x 23 in6 Anni Albers – Wall Hanging, 1926, silk 72 × 48 in. (182.9 × 122 cm)
Bauhaus & experiments with weaving & textiles
When she first started at the Bauhaus, Albers was enrolled by the school in the only course that female students could take at that time. Although she was not particularly interested in the field of weaving5, Albers eventually grew to love the craft and everything associated with designing textiles.
She learned how to come up with richly colored and complex abstract compositions through natural and synthetic fibers. Soon, her works started to gain her recognition along the Bauhaus halls, where she quickly became one of the most renowned members of the workshop.
7 Anni Albers – Wallhanging Camino Real in the Lobby Bar at Camino Real Hotel, 1968, photo: Armando Salas Portugal8 Anni Albers – Wall Hanging, 1925, silk, cotton, acetate 50 × 38 in. (127 × 96.5 cm)9 Anni Albers – Wall hanging, 1925, wool and silk, 93 × 373⁄4 in. (236 × 96 cm)10 Anni Albers – Black White Gray, 1927/1964, cotton and silk 581⁄4 × 473⁄4 in. (147.9 × 121.3 cm)11 Anni Albers – Black White Red, 1926/1964, cotton and silk 69 × 461⁄2 in. (175 × 118 cm)
Video: Book: On Weaving, 1965
1 min 43 sec
Innovation & recognition
Beyond her integration of abstract modernism into the textiles that she weaved, Albers also introduced new technologies to the weaving shop. Her use of synthetic fibers and cellophane to come up with acoustic panels influenced other manufacturers to create panels in a similar style, which led to groundbreaking innovations in theater design.
Albers achievements became so widespread that in 1949, the Museum of Modern Art6exhibited her work78. This show allowed her to travel to various parts of the world, which further cemented her reputation as the world’s best textile designer.
12 Anni Albers works in her weaving studio at Black Mountain College in 193713 Anni Albers – Black White Yellow, 1926/1964, silk and rayon 80 × 47 in. (203 × 119 cm)14 Anni Albers – Wall Hanging, 1926, mercerized cotton, silk, 203,2 x 120,7 cm15 Anni Albers – Monte Alban, 1936, Silk, linen, wool, 146 x 112 cm16 Anni Albers – From the East, 1963, Cotton and plastic, 63.5 x 41.4 cm
Video: Anni Albers exhibition at Museo Guggenheim Bilbao, 2017
2 min 31 sec
Video: Anni Albers exhibition at Tate Modern, 2018-2019
2 min 52 sec
Legacy
Graphic, bright and timeless are some of the words that come to mind when describing Anni Albers’ work. With assistance from her husband Josef, who was also equally respected in Bauhaus and the rest of the world, the couple created wonderful abstract compositions that are still as impressive today as they were when they were first introduced to the world.
Along with her career, Albers also developed an interest in lithography and screen printing, which allowed her to explore the interplay between patterns and bold color combinations. Her contribution to the field of textiles remains intact today.
17 Anni Albers – Textiles pictured with pages from her Notebook, 1960–1970, photo: Max Burkhalter18 Anni Albers – Red and Blue Layers, 1954, Cotton, 61.6 x 37.8 cm19 Anni Albers – Pasture, 1958, cotton, 39,4 x 35,6 cm20 Anni Albers – Open Letter, 1958, cotton, 57.8 x 60 cm21 Anni Albers – Six Prayers, 1966-1967, Cotton/linen, bast/silver, Lurex 186,1 x 297,2 cm
Video: Nicolas Fox Weber explores day-to-day life at the Bauhaus
1 h 22 min
Photos
Exhibitions
22 Anni Albers – Pictorial Weavings, installation view at MIT New Gallery, 195923 Anni Albers installation view at the Tate Modern, 2018-2019, photo: Tate Modern24 Anni Albers installation view at the Tate Modern, 2018-2019, photo: Tate Modern25 Anni Albers installation view at the Tate Modern, 2018-2019, photo: Tate Modern26 Anni Albers installation view at the Tate Modern, 2018-2019, photo: Tate Modern27 Anni Albers installation view at the Tate Modern, 2018-2019, photo: Tate Modern28 Anni Albers installation view at the Tate Modern, 2018-2019, photo: Tate Modern
Weavings & Tapestry & Rugs
29 Anni Albers – City, 1949, Linen and cotton pictorial weaving, 17 1/2 × 26 1/2 in, 44.5 × 67.3 cm30 Anni Albers – Sheep May Safely Graze, 1959, Cotton, synthetic fiber; woven- plain weave and leno, 36.8 x 59.7 cm31 Anni Albers – Smyrna rug, 211 x 251 cm32 Anni Albers – Wallhanging, 1984, wool 98 × 89 in. (243.8 × 226 cm)33 Anni Albers – Design for a 1926 Unexecuted Wallhanging, 1926, Gouache and pencil on reprographic paper, 15 1/8 x 9 7/8 inches (38.4 x 25.1 cm)34 Anni Albers – Red Meander, 1954, linen and cotton, 52 × 37.5 cm35 Anni Albers – Rug, 1959, Wool hand woven, 122 x 165 cm36 Anni Albers – Epitaph, 1968, pictorial weaving, 149,8 x 58,4 cm
Gouache
37 Anni Albers – Untitled, 196338 Anni Albers – Study for Camino Real, 1967. Gouache on blueprint graph paper, 171⁄2 × 16 in. (44.4 × 40.6 cm)39 Anni Albers – Study for an unexecuted wallhanging, 1926, Gouache with pencil on photo offset paper
Prints
40 Anni Albers – Connections: Untitled, 1983, screenprint, 69.9 x 50.8 cm41 Anni Albers – Orchestra III, 1980, Photo-offset, 18 × 17 in, 45.7 × 43.2 cm, Edition of 5042 Anni Albers – Double Impression II, 1978, Photo-offset, 27.94 x 22.86 cm, Edition of 5043 Anni Albers – Camino Real, 1967, Screenprint on Mohawk Superfine Bristol paper, 59.5 × 56 cm44 Anni Albers – Study for Nylon Rug from Connections, 1983, screenprint, 69.5 × 49.5 cm (27 3/8 × 19 1/2″)45 Anni Albers – Red Meander, serigraph, 1969, 50.8 x 41.9 cm46 Anni Albers – Second Movement II, 1978, color etching and aquatint, 38.875 x 38.875 in47 Anni Albers – Second Movement V, 1978, color etching and aquatin, 17-5/16 x 17-7/16 in
All images by the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation/n/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/DACS unless otherwise noted.
1 min 43 sec
