MoMA shows about 300 works in »Sophie Taeuber-Arp: Living Abstraction«

Sophie Taeuber-Arp is best known as a prominent exponent of Dada, her Dada Heads being one of the movement's hallmarks. But the Swiss artist's body of work is more diverse, marked by Taeuber-Arp's experimental, boundary-crossing work with a wide variety of art genres, as well as design. Throughout her life, Taeuber-Arp held the opinion that the separation of art and design should be abolished. Among her works, of which approximately 300 are on display at MoMA, are paintings, drawings, textile works, puppets, stained glass, and designs for architecture and interiors.

The exhibition focuses on Taeuber-Arp's approach to abstraction. Remarkably, she did not reduce figurative pictorial content as her fellow artists did, but rather transferred abstract compositions from her design works to painting and sculpture. Living environments became a component of the visual arts in Taeuber-Arp's work, a kind of »living abstraction«, as the exhibition organizers describe it.

The selected works will be presented chronologically, from Taeuber-Arp's early works beginning in 1914 to the last drawings she made before her death in 1943. Until March 12, 2022, insightful glimpses into one of the most innovative œuvres of the 20th century are guaranteed.