Powerful Textures
In the history of textiles, tapestries and textile works in space often play a role in asserting values and identity. The basis of the Klingspor Museum's unique collection of modern tapestries is formed by the works of Rudolf Koch and his students, which were created in Offenbach around 1925. Purchases, donations and commissions have expanded the collection, which is now being shown for the first time in the context of contemporary works. As textile art is often associated with female work, textile writing is increasingly being used in activist and feminist contexts. In contemporary works, personal stories are interwoven with politics and social criticism. Loans from international artists complement the exhibition.
With artworks by
Melina Braß, Daria Goncharova, Katya Dimova, Barbara Habermann, Sandra Heinz, Karlgeorg Hoefer, Anna Horváth, Eta Ingham Lawrie, Monika Jäger, Ems Kadenz, Kani Kamil, Rudolf Koch, Eike König, Lise Linnert, Petra Ober, Werner Poeschel, Allan Porter, Helga Portig-Sitka, Herbert Post, Fritz Riedl, Erin M. Riley, Maureen Ritter, Dieter Roth, Hans Schmidt, Vreni Spieser, Johanna Natalie Wintsch, Berthold Wolpe
Opening hours
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 1 - 6 p.m.
Friday 2 - 9 p.m.
Saturday, Sunday, public holiday 11 am - 6 pm
Closed on Monday
Admission prices
Free admission for children and young people under 18,
reduced (people with severe disabilities, trainees, federal voluntary service, students, unemployed) 2.50 euros,
pensioners 3 euros,
adults 4 euros,
Free admission on Fridays
Information on accessibility
Catalog
The catalog for the exhibition is available for 18 euros at the Klingspor Museum:
Textile Language. Text carpets from the holdings of the Klingspor Museum.
Powerful Textures. Lettering carpets from the Klingspor Museum Collection.
Editors: Dorothee Ader, Tatjana Prenzel.
Offenbach am Main: Klingspor Museum, 2026.
201 pages, numerous color illustrations, language: German and English
Further information about the exhibition
In the history of textiles, tapestries and textile works in space have often played a role in asserting values and identity. Textile writing can have different functions: Being surrounded by words, physically wrapping oneself in them, can comfort, instruct or reassure.
The Klingspor Museum's collection contains a unique collection of modern text carpets, at the center of which are wall-sized works by Rudolf Koch and his students, which were created in the Offenbach workshop around 1925. The deeply religious artist, who was one of the most important typeface designers of his time, searched for comprehensive ways of expressing the word of God and thus created a new genre of typeface art. From the 1950s onwards, further tapestries of scripture were added to the museum, many of which were woven in the tapestry workshop of Inge Richter and Gret Mohrhardt, which existed in Offenbach for decades and is almost forgotten today.
Because textile work is often associated with femininity, textile writing is also increasingly used in activist and feminist contexts in contemporary art. Personal stories are interwoven with politics and social criticism. Numerous loans from international artists demonstrate the range of these powerful forms of expression. New York artist Erin M. Riley, for example, processes female experiences of violence in her woven carpets, while Lise Linnert collaborated with various people involved for her large textile installation on the Utøya attack and thus actively performed mourning work. Swiss artist Vreni Spieser deals with the separation from a partner in a wall-filling textile work and Iranian-born artist Kani Kamil uses embroidery with hair to process memories of her own childhood.
A completely different aspect is shown by loans from the Prinzhorn Collection in Heidelberg, which were chosen as a form of expression by female psychiatric patients in the early 1920s. Complex embroideries bear witness to the intensive, sometimes obsessive examination of their own world of thought.
A catalog of the museum's tapestries will be published to accompany the exhibition.
An extensive program of events will accompany the exhibition.
Thank you
Thanks for the support:
Peter and Irene Ludwig Foundation
Association of Friends of the Klingspor Museum
SOH Stadtwerke Offenbach Holding GmbH
Hessian Ministry of Science and Research, Art and Culture
KulturRegion FrankfurtRheinMain
Program
May 9, 2:00–4:00 p.m.
Artist Talk with Lise Linnert on “Cruelty has a Human Heart” (in English)
Followed by a ceramics workshop with Lise Linnert, “It is after Rain that the Birds Sing” (in English)
Participants will create ceramic birds to accompany the artwork throughout the exhibition.
Admission + €2.00
Registration required
May 10
Workshop with Johanna Schmal
10 a.m.–1 p.m.: Introduction to dyeing with plants / bundle dyeing
Lunch break
2–5 p.m.: Textile collage (small wall hanging)
Admission + materials: €15
Registration required
May 15, 6:00 PM
Curator-led tour
Admission by choice
May 16, 2–6 p.m.
Embroidering text with Meike Spanner and TAM Herring
Admission + €10 material fee
Registration required
May 17, starting at 11 a.m.
International Museum Day: Free paper today!
Free admission
May 22, 6 p.m.
Utopia in Poetry. Creative Writing Workshop with Jana Gebhardt
Free admission
May 29, 6:30 p.m.
Book launch: “Play the System. Approaches in Graphic Design” (Slanted)
Free admission
June 12, 7:30 p.m.
MADE Festival, Ichthyosaurus Brecht (Theater)
By and with Ruth Fühner & Oliver Augst
Admission by donation
MADE is supported by the Hessian Ministry of Science and Research, Art and Culture, the Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain, and the cultural offices of the cities of Frankfurt, Offenbach, Darmstadt, and Wiesbaden. With the kind support of the Sparkassen-Kulturstiftung Hessen-Thüringen. In cooperation with WDC 2026.
Sold out: June 13, 2–5 p.m.
“Writing on Silk” workshop with Tanja Leonhardt
Ages 14 and up, registration required
Admission + €10 material fee
June 21, 4 p.m.
Special guided tour: “Calligraphic Tapestries from Offenbach Workshops: Rudolf Koch, Hans Schmidt, Inge Richter, and Gret Mohrhardt”
Admission + €2.00
June 26, 7:30 p.m.
Concert MISFITS’ GAZE * THEIRstory
New music with the Broken Frames Syndicate music ensemble
Admission by donation
MISFITS’ GAZE is supported by the Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain and WDC 2026.
Sold out: June 27, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Workshop with Vincent Brod: Ornaments and graphics with the embroidery machine.
Registration required
Admission + €10 material fee
Sold out: June 29 – July 3, 2026, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
We Weave Together
Summer program with artists Monika Jäger and Paula Schulenburg
Ages 8–13
Registration required
Free
This program is part of the “Route der Industriekultur Junior” project by the non-profit organization KulturRegion FrankfurtRheinMain. Funded by the Hessian Ministry of Science and Research, Art, and Culture in the area of cultural education.
July 3, 6:00 PM
Utopia in Poetry. Creative Writing Workshop with Jana Gebhardt
Free admission
July 5, 2 p.m.
Diary Weaving Workshop with Studio Stiller
Ages 16 and up, registration required
Admission + €10 material fee
July 10, 6 p.m.
Curator-led tour
7 p.m.
Crochet small works of art with artist Monika Jäger
Admission by donation
July 17, 6 p.m.
Book presentation by Vivian Fischer: “Between Thread and Surface”
Admission by donation
July 19, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Knotting – from friendship bracelets to wall decorations
Workshop with artist Ems Kadenz
Admission + €10 material fee
July 24, 6 p.m.
Inspired by: Textiles. Zine workshop with Katharina Hepp (Zine Team FFM)
Admission by donation
July 31, 6 p.m.
Special Guided Tour: “Rudolf Koch and the Offenbach Workshop”
Guided tour: 2.00 euros
August 7, 5 p.m.
Curator-led tour
6:00 p.m.
Utopia in Poetry. Creative Writing Workshop with Jana Gebhardt
Free admission
August 8, 2–5 p.m.
Calligraphy course for beginners with calligrapher Tanja Leonhardt
Registration required
30 euros
August 15–16, 2026, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Get Creative! Textile printing over, under, on paper and fabric
With artists Ina Hengstler and Monika Jäger
Meeting point: Klingspor Museum
Course location: Printing workshop in the Bernardbau
Registration required
€80 + €10 material fee
August 16, 4:00 p.m.
Curator-led tour
Free admission
Bookable offers
Kindergartens and school classes
Book lab: We discover books made from different materials and design a leporello
Daycare centers: 1 hour, 1€/child
School classes: 2 hours, €2.50/child
Further training for educators and teachers
Wet felting: How to make a ball, string and surface
3 hours, €30/person (groups of 6 or more)
With registration
Contact for questions and registrations
klingspormuseumoffenbachde phone 069 8065 2164 (Tue to Sun during opening hours)