Anna Thommesen created colours and patterns inspired by nature. Over five decades she wove a series of exceptional abstract tapestries. This spring’s major special exhibition devoted to Anna Thommesen and her life’s work is the first to unfold her practice in full, to explore it from new perspectives, and to position her and her significant role within art history.
The exhibition sheds new light on Anna Thommesen’s lifelong work and presents more than 40 handwoven tapestries alongside the prestigious decorative commissions she created for private homes, art collections and important public spaces such as Roskilde Cathedral and the Landsting Chamber at Christiansborg. Her tapestries were rooted in age-old handweaving techniques and in yarns she dyed herself – for many years using plants she collected in nature. The exhibition also features meticulous pattern drawings, painterly watercolour sketches and original colour samples that offer a unique insight into her artistic process.
Anna Thommesen elevated the medium of weaving into moden art, and in the present day, her work speaks directly to the current interest in tekstile mediums.