In the 1930s, the textile designer Otti Berger (1898–1944) created fabrics for modernist architecture which continue to fascinate us today. Her designs are characterised by an impressive interplay of aesthetics, function and technical innovation which have fundamentally changed our notion of what textiles can be and do. As of 1927, Otti Berger studied and taught at the Bauhaus, and after 1932, began working freelance, and secured numerous patents.

In cooperation with the Bauhaus-Archiv, the visual artist Judith Raum teamed up with weaver and textile designer Katja Stelz to analyse Otti Berger’s fabrics as part of a multiyear research project. The interdisciplinary research process has now culminated in a richly illustrated publication entitled Otti Berger – Weaving for Modernist Architecture, published by Hatje Cantz, which presents a broad overview of Berger’s works to the public for the first time. Judith Raum’s installation at the temporary bauhaus-archiv allows visitors to sensually experience Otti Berger’s works. The installation features a new video piece alongside two large-scale, fastidiously reconstructed tapestries by Katja Stelz which highlight central aspects in Otti Berger’s life: her efforts to protect her technically exquisite fabrics with patents and her private fate as a Jew living in the National Socialist dictatorship. The installation is open to visitors from March 15 to August 24, 2024. 

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Image: ©Konrad Langer, by courtesy of Bauhaus-Archiv