The movements of the Secession and the Wiener Werkstätte turned Vienna into a major center of creative activity between 1897 and 1932. The founding group of young artists who formed the Secession included the architect Josef Hoffmann, the painter Koloman Moser, and the painter Gustav Klimt, who was elected president. Participants strived to encourage a heightened sensitivity to, and appreciation for, culture and the arts in everyday life. The line between fine and applied arts became blurred, and the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, or unified work of art, was introduced. This resulted in a full range of objects and furnishings being designed for specific interiors to create a unified, harmonious ensemble. The goal of this intimate, focused exhibition is to examine the artistic values and development of the Secession and Wiener Werkstätte movements through textiles, one of the most resonant and revealing aspects of artistic creativity of the time and a key element in the realization of Gesamtkunstwerk. On view are approximately 50 textiles and related objects including fabric samples, a sample book, fabric covered books and boxes created by Josef Hoffmann, Dagobert Peche, Maria Likarz-Strauss and other textile artists working in Klimt's era.

August 3, 2007 – January 6, 2008 | The Textile Museum
2320 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
Hours: Monday-Saturday 10:00am-5:00pm, Sunday 1:00am-5:00pm, except all federal holidays and December 24.
Admission free, suggested donation $5.
For more information please visit http://www.textilemuseum.org

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Lecture by Angela Völker, Head of the Department of Textiles at the Austrian Museum for Applied Arts, Vienna

September 20 | 7:00 pm | The Textile Museum
Admission: $15/members; $20/non-members. Registration required: 202-667-0441, ext. 64.
For more information please visit http://www.textilemuseum.org