17 March 2026  Press conference on the artist's birthdayAt the MAK - Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna, the exhibition Textile – Abstract by Ursi Fürtler was presented to the press on the morning of March 17, 2026. The event took place on the artist's birthday and was well attended by journalists and professionals interested in textile design and artistic processes. The exhibition opens the same evening and runs from March 18 to June 14, 2026 at the MAK Forum, a space known for experimental design presentations.MAK General Director Lilli Hollein introduced the exhibition and placed it in a broader institutional context. She noted that the timing is intentional: just days later, the museum will reopen its permanent display of textiles and carpets. This new presentation will open on March 24 and be accessible from March 25, including a contemporary carpet by Virgil Abloh created for IKEA. From education to international workDuring the press tour, Fürtler herself guided visitors through key works from several decades. She began with a square textile print, explaining her early experiments with screen printing and the use of multiple stencils. Her training at the Vienna Fashion School Hetzendorf and later at the University of Applied Arts laid the technical foundation for this practice.Over time, Fürtler developed textile designs for companies such as Backhausen and worked internationally. Her career shows how closely textile art, industrial production, and fashion design are connected. Curator Lara Steinhäußer emphasized this network of disciplines throughout the exhibition. Material, experimentation, and challengesA recurring theme in Fürtler's talk was her ongoing interest in materials. She described her current work with taffeta and her continuous search for new possibilities in textile surfaces. Despite her long career, her curiosity remains active. Experience, in her case, does not slow creativity but seems to deepen it.She also spoke openly about difficulties. Printing on textile, especially with layered screen techniques, often involves mistakes. Fürtler described these moments not as failures but as necessary steps. According to her, errors can push artists to rethink methods and discover new visual solutions. A personal view on textile art in ViennaThe guided tour became a journey through time, linking early works on paper with later sculptural textiles and wearable objects. It also reflected Vienna's broader textile culture, where art, craft, and industry overlap.The exhibition highlights how individual careers contribute to this environment. In Vienna, fashion and style are not created by a single voice but by many creative forces. In many cases, these forces—and the continuity of textile knowledge—are shaped by women. Image: Press conference at the MAK Forum in Vienna on March 17, 2026. General Director Lilli Hollein, artist and designer Ursi Fürtler, and Lara Steinhäußer, Curator of the MAK Textiles and Carpets Collection, present textile works. Photo: © Fashion.at |