The Magazine Antiques

June 30, 2009  |  In July the Museum of Modern Art will publish Gunta Stölzl: Bauhaus Master, a book that offers an intimate look at the art of the modernist designer and weaver. As the title suggests, Stölzl was an influential member of the visionary Bauhaus school—working with Marcel Bruer, Johannes Itten, and Walter Gropius among others—first as a student, and later as head of its now famous weaving workshop. Here excerpts from Stölzl's journals, letters, and writing are presented with notes and an introduction by her daughter, Monika Stadler. The book is divided into three chronological sections: "Artist in a Field Hospital" shows art made during her service in Munich during World War I containing mostly figurative and landscape sketches; "Student at the Bauhaus in Weimar" highlights her pedagogical training at the school including her first experiments in textiles and her well known collaboration with Breuer; and "Master at the Bauhaus in Dessau" documents her mature abstract style and weaving methodology.

More than 75 key works by Stölzl are illustrated (along with archival photographs) that emphasize the style and technique of the industrial craft that she pioneered. Her beautiful color palette and harmonious designs are shown to great effect in this compact and finely produced book, which is also a wonderful teaser for MoMA's upcoming Bauhaus retrospective exhibition, opening in November.  

Gunta Stölzl: Bauhaus Master is published by Museum of Modern Art, New York, in association with Hatje Catnz, 2009, hardcover, 144 pp., $39.95. It will be available for purchase from MoMA, and additional information on Gunta Stölzl can be found online at www.guntastolzl.org.