The Easel

2nd June 2026

Book reveals how Chintz—India’s precious textile pattern—became a precolonial global export

Cyrus Naji | The Art Newspaper | 27th May 2026

Distained for being fuddy duddy, chintz is having an “intellectual” revival. It was traded in Asia for centuries before appearing in Europe around 1600 where it proved wildly popular. Rather than heavy woollen and stiff linen garments, consumers could now get lightweight, colourful, washable cotton. Trade and colonialism led to a sophisticated amalgam of Western symmetry and sinuous Persian and Indian designs. Although its back story is little understood, chintz has had an impact “on global art and design history”.

26th May 2026

Anni Albers: the weaver who rewrote modernism

Ali Morris | Wallpaper | 6th April 2026

Albers began studying textiles at the Bauhaus which she found to be competitive and sexist. After leaving Nazi Germany for the US, she developed textiles as a serious medium within modern art. A solo show at MoMA in 1949 was a turning point, showcasing works that were abstract yet emphasised the inherent quality of materials. The way she prioritised structure over decoration led one critic to call her a “fabric engineer”.  Her late printmaking likewise created images “through process rather than gesture.”

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