Sophie Taeuber-Arp
Sophie Taeuber-Arp lived through two world wars, but her art remained joyful. Using primary colours, her abstract designs are bright and playful and we hope to share her optimism through our ‘Sophie’ print.
Sophie Taeuber with her Dada Head 1920 Stiftung Arp e.V., Berlin - Courtesy of Tate
As one of the central figures in the Dada movement, the aim of Taeuber-Arp's playful work was to 'Make the things we own more beautiful.'
Her career was extraordinarily diverse, working as a designer, teacher, puppet maker, architect, painter, interior designer, sculptor, performer, jewellery maker, illustrator, and magazine editor.
Sophie Taeuber-Arp Research Project. Untitled - Design for an embroidery. 1915-1917, coloured pencil on graph paper
“Part of what young women are drawn to is Taeuber-Arp’s restless sense of freedom. She was not keeping herself only to one thing. She was liberated to do what she wanted.”
- Curator, Walburga Krupp
Sophie Taeuber-Arp. Five Extended Figures. 1926 - Courtesy of MoMA
During the First World War Artists, writers and thinkers from across Europe who wanted to escape from the conflict settled in Zurich. The city became a centre for the avant-garde. One of the most radical movements to emerge as a result of the war was Dada.
This group of artists, poets and performers challenged the rationalism and social conventions that they believed had led to the war. Sophie Taeuber-Arp was a key member and one of the few women artists within the group. She embraced Dada’s absurdist, playful and radical practices.
As was often the case, Sophie Taeuber-Arp’s work was for many years overshadowed by her husband, sculptor, painter, and poet Jean Arp. It's only very recently that her work has been celebrated and her fearlessly playful attitude recognised.
She celebrated the creative power of joy. She understood that when everything collapses around you, the infinite space of the imagination is one of the few sights that can offer solace.
Sophie Taeuber-Arp in costume for a housewarming party organised by artist Walter Helbig, Ascona, Switzerland August. 1925 Fondation Arp, Clamart, France.
'Revolted by the butchery of the 1914 World War, we in Zurich devoted ourselves to the arts. While the guns rumbled in the distance, we sang, painted, made collages and wrote poems with all our might.'
- Jean Arp
Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Composition of Circles and Semicircles, 1935. National Museum of Women in the Arts ©
You can read more about the life and work of Sophie Taeuber-Arp here…