Gunta Stölzl (1897 - 1983)
Born in Munich, March 5th, 1897. 1913-1916: studies at the Arts and Crafts School in Munich. 1916-1918: Red Cross nurse behind the front lines.Drawings from the years 1915-1919 testify to her great interest in architecture.
1919: Begins her studies at the Bauhaus Weimar. Attends Johannes Itten's classes and in 1921 the first class given by Paul Klee. 1922: attends course in dyeing techniques in Krefeld and establishes dyeing facilities at the Bauhaus. Her abstract works on paper show the influence of Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky. They anticipate the boldly colourful abstract wall hangings andblankets produced from 1923 onwards. 1923: passes journeyman's examination as a weaver. 1924: assists Johannes Itten to establish the “Ontos Weaving Workshops” near Zurich. Attends weave and fiber technology courses in Krefeld.
1925: appointed craft master of the weaving workshop at the Bauhaus in Dessau. Directs the students' practical and theoretical instruction and works out a systematic method of training.
1927-1931: acting both as technical and artistic director of the weaving workshop, Gunta Stölzl becomes the only female "Bauhaus Master". Experimenting with new materials, such as cellophane for light-reflecting wall coverings and ‘iron yarn' for spanning of Marcel Breuer's tubular chairs, she moves the weaving workshop in
the direction of industrial design, but never renouces weaving as a form of artistic expression. 1927: First experiments with the jacquard weave.
1930: first diplomas of the Bauhaus weaving workshop are issued by Gunta Stölzl. During the same year, owing to political pressure, she leaves the Bauhaus and emigrates to Switzerland. Together with two former Bauhaus students she establishes “S-P-H- Fabrics”, a handweaving mill in Zurich. From 1937 to 1967 she directs the handweaving mill on her own, producing mainly textiles for interior design. From the age of 70 Gunta Stölzl devotes herself to the weaving of her own designs. Gunta Stölzl died in Zurich: April 22nd, 1983.
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