Homage to Josef Alberts

Josef Albers (1888–1976) is renowned as an influential pioneer within abstract art and colour theory. His work and ideas were fundamental to the development of modern art, leaving a lasting impression on artists worldwide. Albers was not only an artist but also an educator and theorist who delved deeply into the essence of colour and form, dedicating his life to refining these elements. His paintings and writings, especially his famous series Homage to the Square, reflect a fundamental understanding of visual experience, inviting us to explore the nuances of colour and composition.

Source: Omer Tiroche Gallery

From Bottrop to the Bauhaus Josef Albers was born on 19 March 1888 in Bottrop, Germany, into a family where craftsmanship and skill held a central place. His father, a painter and carpenter, instilled in him an appreciation for manual labour, something that fascinated the young Albers and significantly influenced his artistic development. In his father’s workshop, Albers learned to combine colours and shapes, developing an interest in the properties and interactions of materials. These early experiences with craftsmanship and creativity would later form the foundation for his refined exploration of colour and abstraction.

After a period teaching in primary education, Albers decided in 1920 to pursue his artistic ambitions further at the Bauhaus in Weimar. The Bauhaus was then known as a breeding ground for avant-garde experiments and ideas, and its impact on Albers’ vision is hard to overstate. There, he came into contact with artists and architects such as Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, and László Moholy-Nagy, who strongly influenced his work and thinking. However, Albers was not only a student; he soon became a teacher at the Bauhaus and developed a reputation as a thorough instructor who taught his students to view the world through the lens of form and function.

In 1925, the same year he married Anni Fleischmann (better known as Anni Albers), Albers was appointed head of the Bauhaus glass workshop. Together, they built a unique artistic and personal bond that would inspire and motivate them both. During his time at the Bauhaus, Albers created various glassworks in which he played with geometric shapes and colours. These works reveal an early fascination with the interaction between light, colour, and material.

Emigration to America and Teaching at Black Mountain College In 1933, the Bauhaus closed under pressure from the Nazi regime, prompting Albers and Anni to emigrate to the United States. They settled in North Carolina, where Albers received an appointment as a teacher at Black Mountain College. This progressive institution offered a free and experimental learning environment where Albers could further develop his methods and ideas on teaching. His teaching style was disciplined and sometimes demanding, but he inspired his students to develop a deep understanding of materials and visual elements. Among his students were later-renowned artists such as Robert Rauschenberg and Cy Twombly.

Albers’ lessons at Black Mountain College were designed to encourage a sensory approach to art and foster a personal vision of form and colour. He believed that art was a process of perception and interpretation, and he urged his students to investigate the subtleties of colour and composition. His teaching was not solely focused on technical skills; it also aimed to cultivate a critical eye and an inquisitive mind.

Homage to the Square In 1950, Albers embarked on what would become his most iconic series: Homage to the Square. This series of paintings, constructed from squares in varying colours, lay at the heart of his research into colour relationships and visual perception. The squares were meticulously composed from layers of paint, with Albers using palette knives to create a smooth, uniform texture. Each piece in the series is a study in colour and contrast, illustrating how colours influence and transform each other depending on their context.

The paintings in Homage to the Square may seem simple and repetitive at first glance, but on closer inspection, they reveal a subtle complexity. Albers succeeded in exploring the depth of colour and space on a two-dimensional plane by varying intensity and saturation. He demonstrated how the same colour could appear different depending on the surrounding colours, challenging conventional beliefs about colour. Each square is an invitation to look, to truly take the time to experience colour as something alive and ever-changing.

Interaction of Colour Alongside his paintings, Albers was also an influential theorist. His book Interaction of Colour, published in 1963, remains a seminal work that continues to inspire artists and designers worldwide. Albers intended not only to impart knowledge through this book but also to create an interactive experience for his readers. He believed that colour could not be fully understood by mere study; it had to be experienced. In Interaction of Colour, he encourages readers to experiment and discover how colours influence each other and how the perception of colour can be subjective.

The book, filled with numerous colour illustrations, offers no fixed rules about the use of colour. Instead, it presents a series of experiments and observations that challenge the reader to draw their own conclusions. Through this, Albers introduced a new approach to colour theory, one that places the subjective and changeable nature of colour at its centre. It was this vision of colour as dynamic and context-dependent that made his work so unique.

Inspired by Mexico In the 1930s, Albers developed a deep fascination for Mexican culture and architecture, and he made several trips to Mexico with Anni. The clean lines, vibrant colours, and geometric patterns of ancient Mexican art and architecture had a lasting impact on his work. The colours he observed in the Mexican landscapes and cities served as an inspiration for his later paintings. Mexico provided Albers with a new visual language, a way to integrate geometry and colour even more directly into his art.

The monumental simplicity of the Mexican ruins, with their rhythmic repetition of forms and colours, resonated strongly with his own ideas about abstraction and visual experience. Mexico became a source of renewal for Albers, a place where he could further explore the purity of form and colour in art.

Critique and Controversy Although Albers was highly respected in the art world, his work was not received without criticism. Some found his paintings too cold and calculated, lacking an emotional or expressive dimension. His strict focus on colour and form was sometimes seen as distant, while his square compositions were regarded by others as repetitive or even monotonous. Additionally, his teaching method, based on discipline and precision, was not suited to everyone; his authoritarian approach met with resistance from some students.

However, Albers was not swayed by criticism. He believed that the power of art did not always have to lie in emotional expression but rather in the precision and meticulousness with which the visual was examined. His disciplined approach allowed him to penetrate the core of colour and form and provide a profound analysis of visual perception.

Josef Albers’ Lasting Legacy Josef Albers bridged the gap between the European avant-garde and American abstract expressionists, and his ideas inspired later artists such as Mark Rothko, Ellsworth Kelly, and Ad Reinhardt. His work is exhibited worldwide, and his theories continue to be taught in art academies. For Albers, art was not merely about creating images; it was about discovering and understanding the world through a different lens.

His dedication to studying colour and form reminds us that art can also be an intellectual and meditative pursuit. Josef Albers showed us that the simplest shapes and colours could contain infinite richness if we are willing to look with attention and patience. His life and work remind us that art teaches us not only to see but to truly observe and experience.

Sources:

• "Josef Albers: Life and Work" door Charles Darwent

• "Anni & Josef Albers: Equal and Unequal" door Nicholas Fox Weber

• "Josef Albers in Mexico" door Lauren Hinkson