Fabric Sample
Anni Albers
American, born Germany. 1899–1994
c. 1944
A small woven sample in cellophane and jute in which Anni Albers experiments with the contrast of transparent industrial film and rough natural fiber to explore texture, light, and structural rhythm for modern textiles.
Thin, evenly spaced russet threads seem to float across a faintly translucent ground, the cellophane catching light while the jute’s haloed fuzz and frayed selvages insist on a tactile, hand-made presence.
This mid‑1940s work shows Albers’s breakthrough in marrying craft and industrial materials—pioneering unconventional media in weaving and helping to redefine textiles as a field for formal and material experimentation in modern design.
Medium
Cellophane and jute
Dimensions
7 1/4 x 6 1/8" (18.4 x 15.6 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Josef Albers
Accession
450.1970.89
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
