Sophie Taeuber-Arp: Living Abstraction

by Briony Fer (Contributor), Sophie Taeuber-Arp (Artist), Medea Hoch (Contributor)

A definitive survey on the Dada participant and pioneer of abstraction between art and craft, spanning her textiles, marionettes, stained glass, paintings and more

A New York Times critics' pick | Best Art Books 2021

Accompanying the first retrospective of Taeuber-Arp’s work in the United States in 40 years, Sophie Taeuber-Arp: Living Abstraction is a comprehensive survey of this multifaceted abstract artist’s innovative and wide-ranging body of work. Her background in the applied arts and dance, her involvement in the Zurich Dada movement and her projects for architectural spaces were essential to her development of a uniquely versatile and vibrant abstract vocabulary. Through her artistic output and various professional alliances, Taeuber-Arp consistently challenged the historically constructed boundaries separating fine art from craft and design.

This richly illustrated catalog explores the artist’s interdisciplinary and cross-pollinating approach to abstraction through some 400 works, including textiles, beadwork, polychrome marionettes, architectural and interior designs, stained glass windows, works on paper, paintings and relief sculptures. It also features 15 essays that examine the full sweep of Taeuber-Arp’s career. Arranged into six chapters that follow the exhibition’s sections, these essays trace the progression of Taeuber-Arp’s creative production both chronologically and thematically. A comprehensive illustrated chronology, the first essay on Taeuber-Arp’s materials and techniques, and an exhibition checklist based on new research and analysis detail the expansive nature of Taeuber-Arp’s production.

Sophie Taeuber-Arp was born in 1889 in Davos, Switzerland, and trained at the interdisciplinary Debschitz School in Munich. In 1914, she began a successful applied arts practice in Zurich, where she also taught textile design and participated in the Dada movement. Starting in the late 1920s, Taeuber-Arp completed several architectural and interior design projects, most significantly the Aubette entertainment complex in Strasbourg. When she moved to Paris in 1929, she turned her attention to abstract paintings and painted wood reliefs. During the Nazi occupation, Taeuber-Arp spent her final years in the South of France, and died of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning in 1943.

Genres: Art

351 pages, Hardcover

Published June 15, 2021

About the author

Briony Fer, FBA is a British art historian, critic, and curator; professor of history of art at University College London. She has written extensively on diverse topics of 20th century and contemporary art.

Reviews

[Lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good biography for people who love learning about textile artists. Taeuber-Arp grew up in weaving and textile towns in Germany and Switzerland the daughter of a pharmacist. She made things from many materials all of her life and was also a dancer encouraged by her mother. She attended three different Textile schools in Germany. She was a strong, ambitious person and took care of her family. She also took care of Hans Arp when in school, and this continued throughout their lives. They faced very hard times in WWII, struggling to find enough to eat. Taeuber-Arp died in 1943 from monoxide poisoning while visiting friends. An older friend and patron was able to catalog all her works and keep her name alive. Inspiring reading except for her short life.

[Cameron Toney · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful collection of essays and pictures about Taeuber-Arps work. She is rapidly turning into one of those artists that I will sing the praises of to anyone who will listen, and be shocked how few people know her name.

[Eva Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful artwork and interesting life during a turbulent time. Though mainly abstract, you can see how her artwork mimicked what was going on in her life. Also, you see a sense of humor along with elegance. She survived so much during the World War II only to die of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.