Anna Andreeva
News:
December 6, 2024 – March 5, 2025
November 16, 2024 – April 27, 2025
Installation view
14th Shanghai Biennale, 2023
Courtesy of Power Station of Art
Installation view
14th Shanghai Biennale, 2023
Courtesy of Power Station of Art
Installation view
14th Shanghai Biennale, 2023
Courtesy of Power Station of Art
Installation view
14th Shanghai Biennale, 2023
Courtesy of Power Station of Art
Anna Andreeva
Exercise with Circles and Rhombus, collaboration with Tatiana Andreeva, 1972
Gouache on paper
86 × 61 cm
Anna Andreeva
Exercise with Circles and Rhombus, collaboration with Tatiana Andreeva, 1972
Gouache on paper
86 × 69 cm
Anna Andreeva
Exercise with Circles and Rhombus, collaboration with Tatiana Andreeva, 1972
Gouache on paper
86 × 61 cm
Anna Andreeva
Cosmos Series, 1960s
Gouache on paper
28 × 26.5 cm
Anna Andreeva
Cosmos Series, 1961
Gouache on paper
29.3 × 29.7 cm
Anna Andreeva
Cosmos Series "1/2 of the Moon", 1960-70s
Gouache on paper
33 × 20.5 cm
Anna Andreeva
Cosmos Series "Planets", 1982
Gouache on paper
21.6 × 17.5 cm
Installation view
HARD/SOFT. Textiles and Ceramics in Contemporary Art, MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna, 2023
© MAK/Georg Mayer
Installation view
HARD/SOFT. Textiles and Ceramics in Contemporary Art, MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna, 2023
© MAK/Georg Mayer
Installation view
HARD/SOFT. Textiles and Ceramics in Contemporary Art, MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna, 2023
© MAK/Georg Mayer
Anna Andreeva
Decorative Textile for the Club of Energetics, 1967
Textile with silver thread and tempera
190 × 133 cm
Courtesy the Museum of Modern Art, New York
Digital Image © 2022 The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Anna Andreeva
Decorative Textile for the Club of Energetics, 1967 (detail)
Textile with silver thread and tempera
190 × 133 cm
Courtesy the Museum of Modern Art, New York
Digital Image © 2022 The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Anna Andreeva (1917-2008) was a leading designer at one of the most prestigious state textile factories in the Soviet Union, the Red Rose Silk Factory, named after Rosa Luxemburg. Andreeva created hundreds of designs for scarves and fabrics, but her aspirations for the autonomy of art constantly undermined the rigid, oppressive political system. Born near Tambov, about 400 kilometres southeast of Moscow, she studied textile design at Vkhutemas, the famous radical avant-garde art school of the early Soviet era. When she joined the Red Rose Silk Factory in 1941, Anna Andreeva was a young artist, influenced by modernist ideas and ever striving to justify her art in a scientific, if not mathematical sense. She was interested in the relationship between the aesthetics and the material structure of textiles produced by the repetitive process of creating patterns (the irreversible nature of a pattern). Her patterns show no figuration whatsoever and are entirely abstract. These include the geometric cubes of Little Cubes (1969), fabrics featuring assorted combinations of numbers, as well as ornaments inspired by cybernetics, the fashion theory of the time, which appear to cite algorithmic structures – patterns far ahead of their time. Andreeva even pioneered a design that can be likened to a QR code, as early as 1978. Such designs in particular required considerable justification before they could go into production, as abstract art was considered decadent in the former Soviet regime. For some of her abstract designs, such as the overlapping zigzags in the “Electrification” series (Electrification Silver, 1970s) produced from the 1960s to 1974, Andreeva initially had to invent her own narratives in order for them to be accepted by the state censorship authorities. This particular design was initially rejected as “pure abstract propaganda” and it was only when the artist argued that electricity was one of the central pillars of Soviet development that the design was approved and eventually went on to be used for prestigious projects such as the interior design of the state radio building in Moscow.
Other designs such as Electrical Light (1978) and Fireworks (1982) testify to her creative innovation in drawing and her tireless search for new means of expression and the integration of everyday phenomena into the design. Andreeva’s works today represent rare examples of her own Soviet Op Art.
Patricia Grzonka
Anna Andreeva
Study for Decorative Textile for the Club of Energetics, c. 1967
Pencil and tempera on paper
approx. 30 × 20 cm
Courtesy the Museum of Modern Art, New York
Digital Image © 2022 The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Anna Andreeva
Electrification, 1962
Gouache on technical paper
30.1 × 20.8 cm
Anna Andreeva
Study for Decorative Textile for the Club of Energetics, c. 1967
Pencil and tempera on paper
approx. 30 × 20 cm
Courtesy the Museum of Modern Art, New York
Digital Image © 2022 The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Anna Andreeva
Electrification, 1960s
Gouache and pencil on paper
98.5 × 94.5 cm
104.5 × 100.5 cm (framed)
Anna Andreeva
Electrification Sketch, 1974
Gouache and pencil on paper
26.8 × 17.7 cm
Anna Andreeva
Preliminary Drawing for Electrification Gold, 1970
Ink, gouache and pencil on paper
40 × 28 cm (framed)
Anna Andreeva
Preliminary drawing for electrification, 1974
Mixed media on paper
21 × 20.5 cm
Anna Andreeva
Electrification, 1960s
Silk Textile
28 × 19 cm
Anna Andreeva
Electrification Gold, 1970
Mixed media on paper
88 × 77 cm
94 × 83 cm (framed)
Anna Andreeva
Electrification Silver, 1970s
Mixed media on paper
139 × 84 cm
145 × 90 cm (framed)
Anna Andreeva
Electrification, 1974
Mixed media on paper
42 × 57.5 cm
Anna Andreeva
Electrification, 1976
Gouache on paper
62 × 49 cm
68 × 55 cm (framed)
Anna Andreeva
Cubes (design for children's textile), c. 1960s
Tempera, crayon, and collage on paper
20.5 × 20.2 cm
Courtesy the Museum of Modern Art, New York
Digital Image © 2022 The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Anna Andreeva
Pure, 1960s
Gouache and pencil on paper
30 × 32 cm
41.5 × 43.5 cm (framed)
Anna Andreeva
Little Cubes (Stars & Planets), 1969
Ink, gouache and pencil on paper
53 × 42 cm
56 × 45 cm (framed)
Anna Andreeva
Little Cubes (Sports), 1969
Ink, gouache and pencil on paper
52 × 62 cm (framed)
Anna Andreeva
Little Cubes (Numbers), 1978
Ink, gouache and pencil on paper
43 × 43.5 cm
49 × 49.5 cm (framed)
Anna Andreeva
Little Cubes (Alphabet), 1965
Ink, gouache and pencil on paper
43 × 44 cm
50 × 51 cm (framed)
Anna Andreeva
“Kubiki” (little cubes), Design for Childrens fabric, 1968
Ink, gouache, lithograph stone on paper
51.5 × 19.5 cm
57.5 × 25.5 cm (framed)
Anna Andreeva
1/2 of the Moon, 1961
Ink and gouache on special gosznak paper
52 × 52 cm
58 × 58 cm (framed)
Seilerstaette
the future looms, curated by Elisa R. Linn & Lennart Wolff
Anna Andreeva, Jordan/Martin Hell, Charlotte Johannesson, Lorenza Longhi, VNS Matrix, Melika Ngombe Kolongo
Curated by, Vienna. The gallery festival with international curators in Vienna.
September 10 – October 22, 2022
the future looms curated by Elisa R. Linn & Lennart Wolff, 2022
Installation view
Anna Andreeva
Glory to the First Cosmonaut, 1961
Ink, tempera, and mixed media on paper
65 × 64 cm
Courtesy the Museum of Modern Art, New York
Digital Image © 2022 The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Anna Andreeva
World Congress of Women, Moscow (Design for commemorative silk scarf), 1963
Ink, tempera, and collage on paper
65 × 65.5 cm
Courtesy the Museum of Modern Art, New York
Digital Image © 2022 The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Anna Andreeva
Planets & Flowers, 1962
Gouache and pencil on paper
33 × 23.3 cm
Anna Andreeva
Cosmos Series "1/2 of the Moon", 1960-70s
Gouache on paper
33 × 20.5 cm
Anna Andreeva
Cosmos Series "Planets", 1982
Gouache on paper
21.6 × 17.5 cm
Anna Andreeva
Cosmos Series, 1960s
Gouache on paper
29 × 26 cm
Anna Andreeva
Cosmos Series, 1960s
Gouache on paper
29 × 30 cm
Anna Andreeva
Cosmos Series, late 1950s-early 1960s
Silk textile
59 × 19 cm
Singerstraße 27
Les Fleurs
Anna Andreeva
March 31 – May 20, 2023
Anna Andreeva
Les Fleurs, 2023
Installation view
Layr Singerstraße, Vienna
Anna Andreeva
Les Fleurs, 2023
Installation view
Layr Singerstraße, Vienna
Anna Andreeva
Les Fleurs, 2023
Installation view
Layr Singerstraße, Vienna
Anna Andreeva
Les Fleurs, 2023
Installation view
Layr Singerstraße, Vienna
Anna Andreeva
Oriental Flowers, 1960s
Gouache on paper
56 × 45 cm
Anna Andreeva
Wild Flower + Abstraction, 1954-58
Collage
45 × 36 cm / 51 × 42 cm (framed)
Anna Andreeva
Chrysanthemums in golden, 1979-80
Gouache on paper
59.5 × 52 cm
Anna Andreeva
Chrysanthemums in blue, 1980
Gouache on paper
54 × 53 cm
Anna Andreeva
Flowers in illustrated manner, 1985
Gouache on paper
56 × 48.5 cm
Anna Andreeva
The Herbs, 1968 (recto)
Ink, gouache and pencil on paper
54,5 × 43 cm
Anna Andreeva
The Herbs, 1968 (recto)
Ink, gouache and pencil on paper
54,5 × 43 cm
Anna Andreeva
Pied de poule (Broken Checks), 1979
Gouache on paper
63.5 × 58.5 cm
Anna Andreeva
The Grid, 1977 (recto)
Gouache on paper
59.5 × 46 cm
Anna Andreeva
The Grid, 1977 (verso)
Gouache on paper
59.5 × 46 cm
Anna Andreeva
Geometric Pattern “Formulas” (Q-R Code), 1978
Ink and gouache on perforated paper
62 × 86 cm
Anna Andreeva
Exercise with Circles and Rhombus, collaboration with Tatiana Andreeva, 1974
Ink, gouache, silver pigment on paper
71 × 61 cm
Anna Andreeva
Sketch for "Exercises with Circles and Rhombus", 1968-69
Gouache and crayon on graph paper
45 × 39.5 cm
Installation view, History of Fashion - From Avant-Garde to Gost, 2015, VDNH Museum, Moscow (RU)
Anna Andreeva
Electrical Light, 1978
Gouache on paper
100 × 86 cm
107 × 93 cm (framed)
Anna Andreeva
The Grid, 1965
Gouache and pencil on paper
32,6 × 32,6 cm
Anna Andreeva
Urban Sky, 1970s
Gouache on paper
Anna Andreeva
Urban Sky, 1970s
Silk Textile
Anna Andreeva
The Grid, 1979
Gouache on paper
20 × 51,7 cm
Anna Andreeva
STCU. Design for the Union of Scientific and Technical Creativity of Youth, 1974
Mixed media on paper
64 × 65 cm
Anna Andreeva
STCU. Design for the Union of Scientific and Technical Creativity of Youth, 1974
Mixed media on paper
21 × 23.5 cm
Anna Andreeva
STCU. Design for the Union of Scientific and Technical Creativity of Youth, 1974 (verso)
Mixed media on paper
21 × 23.5 cm
Anna Andreeva
Radiowaves, 1988
Mixed media on paper
65 × 46 cm
Anna Andreeva
Radio Waves (Black/Green/Blue), 1974
Mixed media on paper
88.5 × 48 cm
Anna Andreeva
Radiowaves, 1976
Mixed media on paper
86 × 60.5 cm
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Christina Kiaer with Ekaterina Kulinicheva: Anna Andreeva: A “Cosmic-Minded Comrade” in the Red Rose Collective, in: e-flux Journal (February 2024)
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Discoveries: Andreeva’s Camouflage aux Fleurs, in: Art Focus Now (May 2023)
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Sabine B. Vogel, Künstlernachlass: Werft nichts weg!, in: Die Presse (April 2023)
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Patricia Grzonka, Designerin Anna Andreeva. Die Quelle der "Soft Power", in: Monopol Magazin für Kunst und Leben (November 2022)
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Samuel Goff, Fabric Cybernetics, in: Tribune Mag (August 2020)
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Top Five Acquisitions in June, The Art Newspaper (June 2019)
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Matylda Krzykowski, Strategies for Total Patterns, in: Maharam Stories
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Anna Andreeva at MOMA collection
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Paula Erizanu, How Soviet artist Anna Andreeva found freedom from state censors in fabric, Calvert Journal (September 2020)
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The Soviet Textile Artist Who Wove Together Technology and the Avant-Garde, in: Elephant Art (August 2020)
Anna Andreeva
*1917 in Tambov, Russia
† 2008 in Moscow, Russia
Selected Exhibitions
-
2024
MOMus – Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki (GRC) (upcoming)
Layr, Vienna (AT) (upcoming)Wir werden bis zur Sonne gehen. Pionierinnen der geometrischen Abstraktion, Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, Ludwigshafen (DE) (upcoming)
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2023
Cosmos Cinema, 14th Shanghai Biennale, Powerstation of Art, Shanghai (CN)
HARD/SOFT; Textiles and Ceramics in Contemporary Art, Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna (AT)
Les Fleurs, Layr, Vienna (AT)
Retrotopia. Design for Socialist Spaces, Kunstgewerbemuseum, Berlin (DE) -
2022
New Space Show, Layr, Vienna (AT)
the future looms, curated by Elisa R. Linn & Lennart Wolff, Curated by, Layr, Vienna (AT) -
2020
Everyday Soviet, Zimmerli Art Museum, New Brunswick (NJ)
The Laboratory of the Future: Kinetic Art in Russia, Tretjakov Gallery, Moscow (RU) -
2019
Heritage Gallery, Anna Andreeva. Soviet Op-art. Experimental design of the 1960s, Moscow (RU)
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2015
History of Fashion - From Avant-Garde to Gost, VDNH Museum, Moscow (RU)
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1990
Novaya realnost (New reality), Moscow (RU)
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1988
Novaya realnost (New reality), Kaliningrad (RU)
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1970
Expo, Tokyo (JP)
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1962
Manezh, Moscow (RU)
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1967
Expo, Montreal (CA)