Run to the Bauhaus

Bauhaus 1919-1933: Workshops for Modernity is a must see. The exhibition, at New York’s Museum of Modern Art from November 8 until January 25, was organized by MoMA curators Barry Bergdoll and Leah Dickerman in collaboration with three German institutions—all celebrating the 90^th anniversary of the influential school’s founding. Impressive works from the avant-garde think-tank are generously spread out across the sixth-floor galleries, moving through the prodigious production of its 14-year history with a pitch-perfect cadence. There’s almost as much student work as work by the masters. Stunning pieces by the Bauhaus women (including Anni Albers, Lucia Moholy, Gertrud Arndt, Marianne Brandt and of course, Gunta Stölzl) compete with that of the more well-known men. And completely unexpected gems (an incredible African-inspired chair from 1921 by Marcel Breuer with weaving by Stölzl, believed lost until 2004; a series of puppets by Paul Klee for his son Felix, not to mention a generous helping of his paintings; stunning glass art by Josef Albers; a 1923 newspaper shelf by Walter Gropius that could easily have been designed today) outshine some of the de rigueur inclusions, especially from the final years of the Bauhaus under Mies. Located in the last gallery, these works, or at least the presentation of them, are perhaps the weakest part of an exhibit that is otherwise breathtaking without being overwhelming, and utterly surprising while displaying all that you anticipated, or hoped, to see.