Anni's loom (circa 1952) produced by the Structo Manufacturing Company in Freeport, Illinois
Saved from the Nazis by Philip Johnson, Anni Albers née Fleischmann studied under the impressionist Martin Brandenburg before enrolling at the Bauhaus (Weimar) in 1922. While at the Bauhaus, she shifted her focus from painting to weaving and textiles. While at the Bauhaus, she married Josef Albers and moved with him to Dessau when the Bauhaus moved there. In time, she became the head of the weaving program at the design school. In 1933, she and her husband moved to North Carolina where she took a teaching position at Black Mountain College. Later in her career, she moved into printmaking.
Anni brought Modernism to weaving, introducing geometrics and abstractions to the craft, elevating it to art. She was the first textile designer to have a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. She continued to work with Walter Gropius and was a designer for Knoll for three decades.
The exhibit at the Blanton was focused on her post-Bauhaus career and included weavings, tapestries, and prints.
Design for a wall hanging (1926)
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