With Wool. Silk. Resistance., the Museum Angewandte Kunst focuses exclusively on rugs, carpets, and tapestries for the first time in 45 years, at a moment of renewed global interest in handmade textiles.

Rather than a traditional art-historical approach, the exhibition explores these works through the lens of resistance: how rugs, carpets, and tapestries can express an “aesthetics of textile resistance.” It highlights contemporary international artists who engage with social, political, and environmental issues, using textile art as a flexible and evolving medium.

Resistance here is seen as an experience of difference, generating diverse aesthetic and artistic expressions. The exhibition addresses political opposition, resilience, and endurance, confronting power structures, discrimination, trauma, and environmental destruction.