Sophie Taeuber-Arp

Joyful exhibition at Tate Modern on the life and work of Sophie Taeuber-Arp painter, crafts professional, interior designer, performer and more.

This was such a colourful show and from the first room I got a real sense of friendships, loyalty and creativity in all forms. The show was dominated by Taeuber-Arp’s geometric abstract paintings often based on the gird structure of textiles. It also looked at how these designs moved into her craftwork and interior design.

There was a fun display of her puppets for the play “King Stag” which were delighting various children when I was there. It was wonderful to see so many of them there alongside the set designs. These were shown in a room with Dadaesque heads, examples of her wood turning and lovely beaded bags.

I loved the room on her interior design work particularly her work on her own home at Clamart near Paris. I wanted the simple book shelves made in brightly coloured stackable units. It was also nice to see the stained-glass work shown her which she designed for Andre Horn.

Even as she fled Paris in the Second World War and settled in the unoccupied South of France, despite only being able to work with paper and coloured pencils, you got a real sense of an artist needing to work and I loved the two charming drawings of area around the two houses where she lived at that time.

The handout ends with he words that she was “one of the most successful and innovative artist of her time” so it was wonderful to see more light shed on her here.

Closes 17 October 2021

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