Printmaking Demonstration: Anni Albers’ Meander series

*"This particular print went through the press four times. First, she laid down the background as a solid colour. Then, using the same colour, she ran the print through the press two more times, using a cut design screen that was half an inch smaller than the background, so that she could first align it with the top left corner, and then align it with the bottom right corner. And this second time, she also turned the screen upside down. This meant that the pattern would be inverted and off-register; wherever it overlapped, it created a slightly darker, ghost-like tone that was only minimally perceptible." - Jordan Troeller, ‘The permutations of Camino Real: Anni Albers and textile intermediality' c 1970, Anni and Josef Albers, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 2024, p 121.

Join Imogen Dixon-Smith (Kenneth E. Tyler Curator, International Prints and Drawing) and printmaker Elise Stanley (Acting Screen Studio Manager, Megalo Print Studio) at Megalo Print Studio for a unique opportunity to see how Anni Albers made her Meander series (1969–71).

In this series, Albers translates her thread-based practice in the print medium, connecting the layering of threads in the process of weaving to the layering of impressions from a screen in the printing process.

See the screenprinting process used by Anni Albers demonstrated in the studio and learn more about how the Meander series reveals the influence of Bauhaus principles on Albers’ work.

Anni and Josef Albers is on display at the National Gallery from 8 Jun – 22 Sep 2024.

This program is presented in partnership with Megalo Print Studio.