A much-needed publication celebrating the endless creativity of Anni Albers, one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. Anni Albers (1899-1994) was a textile designer, weaver, writer and printmaker, who was among the leading pioneers of twentieth-century modernism. Throughout her fruitful career she inspired a reconsideration of fabrics, both in their functional roles and as wall hangings, truly establishing thread and weaving as a valid medium for art. In her later years, Albers took up print-making, translating many of her persistent themes and ideas into two-dimensional form. But while Albers has been extremely influential for younger generations of artists and designers, her contribution to modernist art history has, until now, been rather overlooked. This publication presents Albers's most important works in a new light, to fully explore and redefine her contribution to twentieth-century art and design, and highlight her significance as an artist in her own right, rather than alongside her husband Josef. Illuminating Albers's technical skill, her material awareness and acute understanding of art and design, this much-needed publication is a celebration of one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century, and her endless creativity.

Depictions of motherhood are ever present in Western art, yet rarely questioned or challenged. We may shy away from a subject that could be seen as sentimental or overly associated with idealistic constructs of femininity, nurture and care. Whether we are mothers ourselves, or whether we bring or nurture life in a wider sense, we all have some understanding of motherhood. We are all born of a woman's body. We are formed from the messy, challenging, self-denying and transformative experiences of motherhood. Giving birth to their creations, artists have represented this vital and complex subject in a variety of ways, providing insight into what motherhood might mean, its joys and challenges, and seeking to articulate its unspoken aspects. This beautiful gift book delves into the subject of motherhood as seen through the eyes of artists, providing a fresh insight into maternity as an art-historical subject and revealing the ways in which it has been confronted and re-imagined in the past 150 years. Featuring fifty artworks in a variety of media, this book is a celebration of motherhood in all its complexity.

A long-overdue reassessment of one of the most important and influential woman artists working at midcentury Anni Albers (1899-1994) was a German textile designer, weaver, and printmaker, and among the leading pioneers of 20th-century modernism. Although she has heavily influenced generations of artists and designers, her contribution to modernist art history has been comparatively overlooked, especially in relation to that of her husband, Josef. In this groundbreaking and beautifully illustrated volume, Albers's most important works are examined to fully explore and redefine her contribution to 20th-century art and design and highlight her significance as an artist in her own right. Featured works--from her early activity at the Bauhaus as well as from her time at Black Mountain College, and spanning her entire fruitful career--include wall hangings, designs for commercial use, drawings and studies, jewelry, and prints. Essays by international experts focus on key works and themes, relate aspects of Albers's practice to her seminal texts On Designing and On Weaving, and identify broader contextual material, including examples of the Andean textiles that Albers collected and in which she found inspiration for her understanding of woven thread as a form of language. Illuminating Albers's skill as a weaver, her material awareness, and her deep understanding of art and design, this publication celebrates an artist of enormous importance and showcases the timeless nature of her creativity.