DESIGNTEX / The Bauhaus Weaving Workshop
February 26, 2020
My ongoing collaboration with Designtex brought me into final stages of a multi-year project they had embarked on – The Bauhaus Project – initiated to honor the women of the Bauhaus Weaving Workshop, raising public awareness for the work they did which blazed a trail for modern textile design.
(from the introduction to the accompanying book) When the Bauhaus opened in 1919, women were only permitted to study textiles and ceramics, both considered female pursuits. The weaving workshop – under the leadership of Gunta Stölzl – would prove to be one of the most innovative of the school’s many departments, as well as one of those with the most lasting influence. Ironically, it also provided the school’s major source of revenue as it created the most commercially viable products.
Stölzl, a German textile artist, developed the curriculum and became the first and only female Bauhaus Master. Anni Albers, an early student of Stölzl, reluctantly embraced weaving but would become the first textile artist to be featured in a solo exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 1949.
The Bauhaus Project is a year long series of initiatives celebrating the women weavers of the Bauhaus and culminating with the introduction of two collections of upholstery and wall coverings, Designtex + Gunta Stölzl and Designtex + Anni Albers. (creative direction: Standard Issue)