APPLIED. Woman + Design
Paula Modersohn-Becker is known and famous as a painter. Hardly anyone knows that around 1900 she embarked on an artistic excursion into textile design. The result was an Art Nouveau tapestry entitled Apple Tree. During this period, she also produced the design sketch Martha and Paula Herding Sheep for her friend Martha Vogeler. Half a century later, in 1957, Martha Vogeler turned this sketch Haus im Schluh a tapestry in her weaving studio in Haus im Schluh . This small work inspired an exhibition dedicated entirely to applied art by women – from 1920 to the present day.
Textile art and fashion, porcelain and ceramic works, silver and brass pieces, advertising graphics and photography: “ANGEWANDT. Frau + Design” presents works by 15 female artists and designers who have successfully realized and continue to realize their creative visions in various fields, and whose work can also be viewed in the context of Worpswede.
Mexican artist Claudia A. Cruz, GEDOK Bremen, enriches and reflects on the exhibition with her work Ode to the Chain Stitches from 2024.
Images:
- Paula Modersohn-Becker, Study: Martha and Paula Herding Sheep, 1904, watercolor, private collection
- Martha Vogeler, Martha and Paula Herding Sheep, 1954, tapestry based on a design by Paula Modersohn-Becker, Freunde Worpswedes e.V., cheese dome
- Claudia A. Cruz, *Ode to the Warp*, To those who hold, to those who are there, to those who were, to those who should not be seen. We are all here!, wall installation , 204, on loan from the artist, photo: © Claudia A. Cruz
