Josef Albers Serigraph from "Formulation: Articulation" Suite, 1972

Item Details

Josef Albers (American/German, 1888 – 1976)
Known as Folio II / Folder 5, 1972
Serigraph on paper
Embossed signature to the lower right
Edition of 1000
Pulled from Formulation: Articulation
Published by Ives-Sillman; published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
Printed by Sirocco Screenprints, Inc.

Josef Albers was an influential 20th century artist who is highly regarded for his Modernist work, color theory and innovative teaching. He gained wide public recognition through his series Homage to the Square, produced in 1950 until his death in 1976, leading to the first retrospective of a living artist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in 1971. Through the repetitive use of this single geometric composition, Albers systematically explored the interactions of color and its effect on the viewer. He typically painted his finished works in this series with a palette knife, spreading thin layers of paint straight from the tube, starting from the center square and working towards the outer edge, never layering his color. He developed extensive theories on the matter which were published in his 1963 book Interaction of Color where he proposed that “…color rather than form is the primary medium of the pictorial language”. Throughout his career Albers traveled extensively across the United States as a visiting professor and lecturer, and his work resides in the permanent collections of numerous prestigious institutions including the Guggenheim, the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Museum of Modern Art and more.

• Item not examined outside of mounting

Condition

- slight undulations to sheet; scratches to frame.

Dimensions

- measures frame; image measures 11.75" W x 11.75" H.

Item #

ITMGM89128