Kabinettstücke: Anna Andreeva – Design and Abstraction

07/06 - 26/10/2025

Anna Andreeva (1917–2008) is among the most successful designers of the Soviet Union. After studying textile design at WChUTEMAS, one of the most innovative art schools of the interwar period, Andreeva began working in 1941 as a designer at the renowned state textile factory Red Rose Silk Factory, named after Rosa Luxemburg. Building on the progressive teachings of her alma mater, the artist went on to create radical, geometrically abstract designs over the next 40 years. This is all the more remarkable considering that, during that period, state-sanctioned art had already moved far from its constructive origins and only Socialist Realism was considered acceptable as an art form. In various bodies of work, Andreeva nevertheless produced innovative fabric designs that cleverly subverted the repressive political system by pairing her creations with accompanying narratives. For instance, her designs for the Electrifikation series were initially dismissed as “abstract propaganda” after she highlighted the electrification of cities as a central pillar of Soviet progress, yet the design was produced for over ten years.

Curator: Julia Nebenführ