Josef Albers: Seeing in Color

Josef Albers (1888-1976) was a visionary teacher, revered by artists, architects and designers alike. Born in Bottrop, Germany, he taught at legendary, progressive art schools such as the Weimar Bauhaus, Germany; Black Mountain College, North Carolina, and Yale University, New Haven. Founded in the 1930s, Black Mountain attracted some of the greatest luminaries of the time--from scientist Albert Einstein to poet William Carlos Williams. Albers’s cutting-edge work inspired many students now famous themselves, including Kenneth Noland, Cy Twombly and Robert Rauschenberg.

Organized by SMoCA assistant curator Erin Kane, Josef Albers: Seeing in Color features the artist’s 1972 silkscreen portfolio Formulation: Articulation I and II (Formulation: Articulation I will be shown September 25 - November 14, followed by Formulation: Articulation II from November 16, 2004 - January 2, 2005). Albers conceived this two volume set (generously donated to SMoCA’s permanent collection by Karla and Walter Goldschmidt) in tandem with his earlier Interaction of Color, 1963, toward the end of his life, as a way to continue his teaching after he was gone. Albers’s simple, geometric compositions reveal his profound grasp of color and form. He subtly manipulated his hues and geometrical shapes to create a sense of spatial depth within the flat picture plane. Looking at Albers’s work is an exercise in perception--and brings a startling awareness of the delicate beauty of color.

Organized by the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.

Presentation made possible in part by the SMoCA Salon.

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Josef Albers
Seeing in Color
Kurator: Erin Kane