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Josef Albers
'Interim' from the series 'Graphic Tectonics' —Mid-Century Geometric Abstraction

1942

About the Item

Josef Albers, 'Interim' from the series 'Graphic Tectonics', zinc plate lithograph, 1942, edition 30, Danilowitz 101. Signed, titled, dated, and numbered '3/30' in pencil. A fine impression on Seri Whitewove paper, the full sheet with wide margins. Minor glue stains at the top sheet margin, verso, where previously hinged; slight rippling to the sheet edges, otherwise in excellent condition. Image size 7 9/16 x 15 3/16 inches; sheet size 17 x 23 3/4 inches. Matted to museum standards, unframed. ABOUT THIS WORK Albers’ ambitious printmaking project 'Graphic Tectonics' was inspired by his enchantment with the ancient (c. 500 BC) monumental architecture of Monte Albán in Oaxaca, southern Mexico. In this series, the artist has reduced the hundreds of man-made terraces surrounding the ceremonial center of the site to a system of linear geometry. The two-dimensional rendering reveals the precise balance unifying the structures and succeeds in suggesting their volume. The parallel black lines create a visual vibration; the negative spaces they surround imply openings or doors, perhaps to other dimensions. Impressions of this work are held in the following institutional collections: The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, North Carolina Museum of Art, and Yale University Art Gallery. ABOUT THE ARTIST Josef Albers was one of Europe’s most influential artist-educators to immigrate to the United States during the 1930s. Following early academic training, Albers turned in 1920 to the innovative atmosphere of the Weimar Bauhaus, where he began his experimental work as an abstract artist. After three years as a student, he was hired to teach the Vorkurs, the introductory class that immersed students in the principles of design and the behavior of materials. Albers directed his students to develop an understanding of "the static and dynamic properties of materials...through direct experience." In his own work, Albers investigated color theory, composition, and mathematical proportions as a means of achieving balance and unity. Yet, Albers did not approach his work from a purely intellectual perspective; he believed that “Art is spirit, and only the quality of spirit gives the arts an important place in life." Initially an expressionist, Albers began experimenting with abstract principles and unusual materials in 1923. His sophisticated glass assemblages of these formative years explored the qualities of balance, translucence, and opacity. Faithful to the Bauhaus throughout the institution’s moves from Weimar to Dessau, and then to Berlin, Albers’ association with the renowned institution endured for more years than any other artist. In 1933, when the Nazis forced the closing of the Berlin Bauhaus, Albers left for America, where he introduced Bauhaus concepts of art and design to the newly formed experimental community of Black Mountain College in North Carolina. After fifteen years at Black Mountain, in 1950, he became chairman of the Department of Design at Yale. In 1949, Albers began his now famous Homage to the Square series. Always a careful craftsman, he often noted the pigments, brands, varnishes, and grounds he used, as well as documented his spatial proportions and the mathematic schemes he incorporated in each work. Although concerned with a highly formal regiment in his own work, Albers supported other approaches: "Any form [of art] is acceptable if it is true," he stated. "And if it is true, it's ethical and aesthetic." Albers believed art to be a means for the "adjustment of the individual as a whole to community and society as a whole" and in the particular validity of "learning to see" not only for artists and designers but to be "beneficial for all, including doctors and lawyers." Engineers he challenged to be "imagineering." As a theoretician and teacher, he was an important influence on generations of young artists. In addition to painting, printmaking, and executing murals and architectural commissions, Albers published poetry, articles, and books on art. A major Albers exhibition, organized by the Museum of Modern Art, New York, traveled in the United States, South America, and Mexico, from 1965 to 1967. A retrospective of his work was held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1971. Albers’ work is held in numerous important private and museum collections throughout the United States and Europe.
  • Creator:
    Josef Albers (1888 - 1976, American, German)
  • Creation Year:
    1942
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 7.57 in (19.23 cm)Width: 15.19 in (38.59 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Myrtle Beach, SC
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: 1036431stDibs: LU53236302052
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