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Anni Albers



Development in Rose I, 1952, linen, 57.2 x 43.8 cm
"An artist who changed weaving, a weaver who changed art." - TATE Modern

Anni Albers is a waver, a fabric designer, writer, and printmaker. She made outstanding contributions to modernism in the 20th century, especially modern abstract art, who made an important breakthrough in traditional weaving. 

In the exhibition, I saw a lot of material test, works, collections, and texts. I understood how she thought about the traditional technique and reflected back to her works. She explored the possibility of weaving based on different materials and textures, and found weaving as her visual language.

Designs created by Albers during her time at the Bauhaus. Source: Art is a word, Flickr.

She likes to travel to South America, where influenced her exploration in the relationship between textiles and written language. In ancient Peru, there was no written language, and textiles were the only language for communication. "Ancient Writing" was the first draft in the weaving painting series, as the title expressed, the work referred to her exploring the relationship between textiles and text, codes, and passwords.

Ancient Writing 1936, cotton and rayon, 150.5 × 111.8 cm

Anni's weaving works for architects or interior designers were distinguished from her small weave paintings. She described her weave paintings as a form of individuality and it is essentially different from a repeating pattern. This reminds me of my small abstract drawings, and they are not just a pattern, but another portrayal of my daily life. The abstract colours and patterns contain randomness or I would say it is a series of intuitive drawings. The colour combination on each piece is based on the color of an object I saw in a day. These drawings illustrate the way I perceive things, which firstly see and remember the color, then its shape and material.

Design for Tablecloth, 1930

Going back to Anni, she likes modern design very much, but at the same time, she feels the advancement of technology is gradually plagued our sense of touch. We are no longer need to use our hands to make things today. Hence, is this consider as progress or degradation?

Rug design for a child's room, 1928, gouache on paper, 34.1 × 26.5 cm


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