Making concepts

At the entrance to the Albers exhibition dedicated to the artist couple at the Musée d’art moderne de la Ville de Paris,1 an oil on canvas by Joseph and a tapestry by Anni were hung side by side. Strangely, the spatial juxtaposition seemed to erase the differences between the two mediums. The superimposition of the colors gave the flat canvas a depth similar to that of the intertwining threads; the weft of the textile seemed palpable beneath the paint. Is there still a need to distinguish between painting and tapestry? Were the visitors not looking at fabric covered with paint and a painting made of colored fibers?