Camino Real, Anni Albers (1968). Photo ©Jonathan Turton, 2026
Anni Albers’ textiles had a soothing quality, much needed as we escaped the searing Vienna heat. Amid the imperious Belvedere Palace complex’s baroque lower galleries, the deceptive simplicity of Albers’ work – from Bauhaus to Black Mountain College and beyond – lulled me into a quiet comfort.
Her textiles merited close inspection thanks to her fascination with the process, but also simply stood up as tactile artworks in their own right. Vivid colours – still bright 70 years on – sat against monochrome geometric sketches; there were prosaic yet beautiful blankets for student dorms and monumental Torah ark curtains for synagogues. The exhibition never felt grandiose despite the scale of some of her pieces, or the breadth of her work: there was even a case of her jewellery, which felt ahead of its time with its upcycled vibe.
I’d seen Albers’ work before though never in a solo exhibition, which is exactly what it deserves.
Highly recommended 10/10