Founded in 1903, the Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna Workshops) began with a vision of returning to handcraft as a form of production from which industrialisation had drained the soul. It rejected the Bauhaus celebration of mass production; in its place it held that every object should carry the trace of creative labour. The movement’s women artists have never received enough visibility. New York’s Jewish Museum opens an exhibition to address that gap — today.
Vienna’s Modernity and Its Jewish Roots
The exhibition centres on the fact that approximately one quarter of the roughly two hundred women artists who worked within the Wiener Werkstätte were of Jewish descent. *Modernity and Opulence: Women of the Wiener Werkstätte* is therefore a layered undertaking: it both closes an art-historical gap and investigates the roots, fates, and contemporary resonance of these artists.
Thirty artists’ works are on display: more than two hundred objects spanning ceramics, textiles, jewellery, toys, and furniture. As curator Kristina Parsons frames it: “It is my hope that this exhibition will be an important platform to rediscover and reintroduce many once-known artists into our histories — so that they are celebrated and remembered.”
Two Names to Know
- Vally Wieselthier (1895–1945) was among the Werkstätte’s most prolific ceramicists. Her intense colours and expressive forms set her apart from the academic ceramics conventions of her era. She also worked in New York and spent the war years in American exile.
- Felice Rix-Ueno (1893–1967) was a textile designer. Her 1929 plain-weave silk print *Tarantella* is included in this exhibition. Rix-Ueno spent long years working in Japan as well — a cross-cultural passage that gave her designs an unusual depth.
The Shadow of the Holocaust
The exhibition was made not only to celebrate but also to remember. Some of the artists died in the Holocaust or their fates remain unknown. Grete Neuwalder is among them — she was killed, but some of her clay work survived. A booklet accompanying the exhibition lists these artists by name, opening doors for future research.
This dimension adds a layer to the exhibition that reads also as memory work — the objects are not only aesthetic history but traces of lives that were being preserved even as they were threatened.
The Movement’s Legacy: Hand Against Machine
The Wiener Werkstätte was running at the same time as the Bauhaus, but in a different direction. While Bauhaus turned to mass production to democratise design, the Werkstätte insisted that every object should carry original labour. This stance acquires new resonance today: in an era when digital automation produces everything, the longing for objects that carry the mark of the human hand is not a nostalgic tic but a genuine question.
FAQ: Wiener Werkstätte Exhibition at the Jewish Museum
- Where and until when can I see the exhibition?
*Modernity and Opulence: Women of the Wiener Werkstätte* runs from 17 July to 15 November 2026 at the Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Avenue, New York. Tickets and opening hours at thejewishmuseum.org.
- What is the Wiener Werkstätte?
An arts and crafts collective active in Vienna from 1903 to 1932, founded by members of the Vienna Secession. It worked across a wide range from furniture to textiles, jewellery, ceramics, and graphic design, foregrounding handcraft over the mass-production ethos of the Bauhaus.
- How many artists are in the exhibition?
Works by 30 Jewish women artists; more than 200 objects. Vally Wieselthier and Felice Rix-Ueno are the highlighted figures. Some artists died in the Holocaust and the accompanying booklet names them, opening paths for further research.
NO-26 Note
This exhibition opening in New York today is an act of art-historical correction. The Werkstätte’s women members remained in the background for decades — this is not only a question of gender but also of how Jewish identity has been proportioned in art history. The Jewish Museum asks both questions together and seeks answers across more than two hundred objects. Worth seeing when in New York.
