Biography
Waddington Custot Galleries present 'Josef Albers: Black and White' in association with the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation. This is the first exhibition to be held in the UK which explores the importance of black and white in Josef Albers's work. Almost 50 selected works testify to Albers's versatility as an artist. Featuring paintings, works on paper, glass works, photographs and engravings on vinylite, this exhibition promises a fascinating insight into his inventive journey.
Albers explored the power of black throughout his life. His thorough use of black using multiple materials helped inform his knowledge and understanding of colour. This self-imposed restriction to monochrome allowed him to approach the full spectrum with remarkable confidence. It was a similar approach to that of other great colourists: Georges Seurat restricted his palette to monochrome for two to three years in the 1880s and Henri Matisse focused on using black around 1918.
Albers's appreciation of complex tonal contrasts as a draughtsman, printmaker and photographer would go on to influence his own pupils including Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly and Kenneth Noland. It also informed his ground-breaking and influential book Interaction of Color, Yale, 1963.
Works in the exhibition include his earliest extant drawing from 1911, his Bauhaus glass constructions and photo collages. One collage of Paul Klee dates from 1929. Klee was a friend and fellow teacher at the Bauhaus, and these images were taken before both artists left Germany for the United States.
From the 1930s onwards, Albers visited Mexico on many occasions, living there for a year in 1947.
During these trips he took photographs of pre-Columbian sites. Photographs of Tenayuca and Uxmal will be on view.
An important set of six Treble Clef gouaches from the 1930s show his subtle symbioses of black, white and grey. Six Graphic Tectonic drawings from the 1940s and Structural Constellations from the 1950s show geometric precision and exemplify his wish to create 'maximum effect' from 'minimal means'. These complex linear designs offer various possible spatial interpretations and thereby create optical illusions.
Best known for his iconic series of Homage to the Square paintings, focusing on chromatic interactions, Albers created these oils, usually on masonite, for a period of over 25 years. Each consists of three or four squares of solid planes of colour. He often used strong, vibrant colours, but in this exhibition are eight examples in black and in white. Alongside these will be his Variant or Adobe paintings, their composition based on the houses in Mexico and the American southwest.
Josef Albers was a pioneering colour theorist and a historic teacher at the Bauhaus, Germany, Black Mountain College, North Carolina, and Yale University, Connecticut. His impact on contemporary art and design was and is lasting and profound.
An illustrated catalogue with essay by Nicholas Fox Weber will accompany the exhibition.
Read more-
Josef Albers, Interior b (JAAF 1976.6.18), c.1929 sandblasted opaque flashed glass 10 5/8 x 9 1/8 in / 27 x 23.2 cm
-
Josef Albers, Interior a (JAAF 1976.6.17), c.1929 sandblasted opaque flashed glass 9 3/4 x 8 1/8 in / 24.8 x 20.6 cm
-
Josef Albers, Stufen / Steps (JAAF 2007.6.1), 1931 sandblasted opaque flashed glass 16 x 21 in / 40.6 x 53.3 cm
-
Josef Albers, Movement in Gray (JAAF 1976.1.1866), 1939 oil on masonite 36 x 35 in / 91.4 x 88.9 cm
-
Josef Albers, Variant / Adobe: ''Gray Facade'' (JAAF 1976.1.1113), 1947-54 oil on masonite 22 x 26 in / 55.9 x 66 cm
-
Josef Albers, Variant / Adobe (JAAF 1976.1.1155), 1948-55 oil on masonite 16 x 31 in / 40.6 x 78.7 cm
-
Josef Albers, Variant / Adobe: ''Marble Inlay'', 1958 oil on masonite 24 x 32 in / 61 x 81.3 cm
-
Josef Albers, Steps, 1931-1956 casein on masonite 16 1/2 x 21 1/4 in / 42 x 54 cm
-
Josef Albers, Study for Homage to the Square (JAAF 1976.1.586), 1965 oil on masonite 24 x 24 in / 61 x 61 cm
-
Josef Albers, Study for Homage to the Square: "Late Exchange" (JAAF 1976.1.616), 1964 oil on masonite 24 x 24 in / 61 x 61 cm
-
Josef Albers, Homage to the Square (JAAF 1976.1.587), 1962 oil on masonite 24 x 24 in / 61 x 61 cm
-
Josef Albers, Homage to the Square (JAAF 1976.1.799), 1968 oil on masonite 32 x 32 in / 81.3 x 81.3 cm
-
Josef Albers, Homage to the Square [In Ivory Mist] (JAAF 1976.1.317), 1964 oil on masonite 18 x 18 in / 45.7 x 45.7 cm
-
Josef Albers, Study for Homage to the Square: "Penumbra" (JAAF 1976.1.1845), 1967 oil on masonite 18 x 18 in / 45.7 x 45.7 cm
-
Josef Albers, Study for Homage to the Square (JAAF 1976.1.358), 1963 oil on masonite 18 x 18 in / 45.7 x 45.7 cm
-
Josef Albers, Homage to the Square: "Half Past" (JAAF 1976.1.907), 1966 oil on masonite 48 x 48 in / 121.9 x 121.9 cm
-
Josef Albers, Treble Clef (JAAF 1976.2.215), c.1932-35 gouache on paper (Royal Watercolour Society paper) 15 5/8 x 11 1/2 in / 39.7 x 29.2 cm
-
Josef Albers, Treble Clef G b (JAAF 1976.2.206a), 1932-35 gouache on paper 15 x 10 3/8 in / 38.1 x 26.4 cm
-
Josef Albers, Treble Clef G c (JAAF 1976.2.206b), 1932-35 gouache on paper (heavy wove, Grumbacher all linen seal upper left) 14 7/8 x 11 in / 37.8 x 27.8 cm
-
Josef Albers, Treble Clef G g (JAAF 1976.2.217), 1932-35 gouache on paper (heavy wove) 14 7/8 x 10 1/8 in / 37.8 x 25.7 cm
-
Josef Albers, Treble Clef G i (JAAF 1976.2.218), 1932-35 gouache on paper (Grumbacher pure linen) 14 7/8 x 10 3/8 in / 37.8 x 26.5 cm
-
Josef Albers, Treble Clef G n (JAAF 1976.2.216), 1932-35 gouache on paper (heavy wove) 15 x 10 1/4 in / 38.1 x 25.9 cm
-
Josef Albers, Study for Graphic Tectonic (JAAF 1976.3.109), c.1941-42 ink on paper 22 1/8 x 17 in / 56.2 x 43.2 cm
-
Josef Albers, Study for Graphic Tectonic IV (JAAF 1976.3.216), c.1941-42 ink and pencil on paper 22 x 17 1/2 in / 55.9 x 44.5 cm
-
Josef Albers, Two studies for Graphic Tectonic (Interim I) (JAAF 1976.3.232), c.1941-42 ink and pencil on paper 17 x 11 1/2 in / 43.2 x 29.2 cm
-
Josef Albers, Study for Graphic Tectonic I (JAAF 1976.3.200), 1941 ink on paper 17 x 22 in / 43.2 x 55.9 cm
%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22artist%22%3E%3Cstrong%3EJosef%20Albers%3C/strong%3E%3C/div%3E%0D%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22title%22%3E%3Cem%3EStudy%20for%20Graphic%20Tectonic%20I%20%28JAAF%201976.3.200%29%3C/em%3E%2C%201941%3C/div%3E%0D%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22medium%22%3Eink%20on%20paper%3C/div%3E%0D%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22dimensions%22%3E17%20x%2022%20in%20/%2043.2%20x%2055.9%20cm%3C/div%3E -
Josef Albers, Study for Graphic Tectonic (JAAF 1976.3.214), c.1942 ink on paper 17 1/8 x 22 in / 43.5 x 55.9 cm
-
Josef Albers, Study for Graphic Tectonic (JAAF 1976.3.218), c.1942 ink on paper 17 x 22 1/8 in / 43.2 x 56.2 cm
-
Josef Albers, Colour study for Homage to the Square (JAAF 1976.2.197), c.1950 oil on blotting paper 24 x 19 in / 61 x 48.3 cm
-
Josef Albers, Colour study for Homage to the Square (JAAF 1976.2.196), c.1950 oil on blotting paper 24 x 19 in / 61 x 48.3 cm
-
Josef Albers, Brackwasser, Biarritz VIII '29 / Tidewater, Biarritz VIII '29 (JAAF 1976.7.49), 1929 gelatin silver prints mounted on cardboard 11 5/8 x 16 1/2 in / 29.5 x 41.8 cm
-
Josef Albers, Untitled (rippled sand) (JAAF 1976.7.197), c.1934-36 gelatin silver print 7 1/8 x 9 7/8 in / 18 x 25.2 cm
-
Josef Albers, Paul Klee, Dessau XI 1929 (JAAF 1976.7.4), 1929 gelatin silver prints mounted on cardboard 11 5/8 x 16 1/2 in / 29.5 x 41.8 cm
-
Josef Albers, Dessau Winterende '31 / Dessau, End of Winter '31 (JAAF 1976.7.64), 1931 gelatin silver prints mounted on cardboard 11 5/8 x 16 1/2 in / 29.5 x 41.8 cm
-
Josef Albers, Vor meinem Fenster, 1931, 1932 / In front of my window, 1931, 1932 (JAAF 1976.7.65), 1931-32 gelatin silver prints mounted on cardboard 11 5/8 x 16 1/2 in / 29.5 x 41.8 cm
-
Josef Albers, Untitled (Tenayuca, Mexico) (JAAF 1976.7.452), 1937 gelatin silver print 9 3/4 x 7 in / 24.8 x 17.8 cm
-
Josef Albers, Untitled (Tenayuca, Mexico) (JAAF 1976.7.460), c.1935-39 gelatin silver print 4 5/8 x 3 3/8 in / 11.6 x 8.6 cm
-
Josef Albers, Untitled (Stairway, Anahuacalli, Mexico) (JAAF 1976.7.476), c.1947 gelatin silver print 9 3/4 x 6 1/2 in / 24.6 x 16.5 cm
-
Josef Albers, Untitled (Pyramid of the Magician, Uxmal, Mexico) (JAAF 1976.7.594), 1952 gelatin silver print 6 7/8 x 5 in / 17.3 x 12.7 cm
-
Josef Albers, Structural Constellation [From Transformation of a Scheme series] (JAAF 1976.8.1757), c.1950 machine engraving on black vinylite mounted on board 17 x 22 1/2 in / 43.2 x 57.2 cm
-
Josef Albers, Structural Constellation: Transformation of a Scheme No.23 (JAAF 1976.8.1891), 1951 machine engraving on black vinylite mounted on board 17 x 22 1/2 in / 43.2 x 57.2 cm
-
Josef Albers, Structural Constellation: Transformation of a Scheme No.10 (JAAF 1976.8.1704), 1950-51 machine engraving on black vinylite mounted on board 17 x 22 1/2 in / 43.2 x 57.2 cm
-
Josef Albers, Structural Constellation [No.31] (JAAF 1976.8.1705), n.d. machine engraving on black vinylite mounted on board 19 x 25 1/4 in / 48.3 x 64.1 cm
-
Josef Albers, Structural Constellation (JAAF 1976.8.1706), c.1955 machine engraving on black vinylite mounted on board 19 1/8 x 25 3/8 in / 19 1/8 x 25 3/8 in
-
Josef Albers, Structural Constellation F.M.E. 4 (JAAF 1976.8.1895), 1962 machine engraving on black vinylite mounted on board 19 1/2 x 26 in / 49.5 x 66 cm
-
Josef Albers, Structural Constellation N-37 (JAAF 1976.8.1703), 1964 machine engraving on black vinylite mounted on board 20 x 26 1/4 in / 50.8 x 66.7 cm
-
Josef Albers, Blick aus meinem Fenster, Stadtlohn 1911 Juli (JAAF 1976.3.1), 1911 View from my window, Stadtlohn 1911 July 11 3/8 x 8 in / 28.9 x 20.3 cm
-
Josef Albers, Study for a Homage to the Square (JAAF 1976.2.32), c.1962-69 oil and graphite on blotting paper 13 1/4 x 11 7/8 in / 33.5 x 30.3 cm
-
Josef Albers, Study for a Homage to the Square (JAAF 1976.2.1434), c.1962-69 oil and graphite on blotting paper 13 1/4 x 12 in / 33.5 x 30.5 cm
-
Josef Albers, Untitled (Kinetic) (JAAF 1976.1.1045), 1945 oil on masonite 14 1/4 x 22 in / 36.2 x 55.9 cm
-
Josef Albers, Study to Kinetic VII, 1945 oil on masonite 16 1/8 x 23 5/8 in / 41 x 60 cm