Sophie Taeuber-Arp

Oval Composition with Abstract Motifs, 1922
hand-knotted wool and cotton

Many of the designs Taeuber-Arp drew, which she initially created as small partial sketches, were meant to be realized as textile works; Oval Composition with Abstract Motifs is one of these. A letter to her sister Erika Schlegel from February 1922 reveals a basic principle of her way of working: “I had a lot of fun drawing it, and I made a whole series of little watercolors that I can easily rework into beaded bags, pillows, carpets, and wall hangings at any time.”

This weaving was produced for the Première Exposition Nationale d’Art Appliqué in Lausanne in 1922, organized by the Swiss Werkbund. The task of making it was taken on by students of the academy of applied arts, Zurich. Because the piece was particularly special to Taeuber-Arp, she bought the carpet back after the exhibition.