Josef Albers : International Art Treasures Web Magazine July 2006

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Josef Albers

Formulation: Articulation, Folio I, Folder I, 1972 by Josef Albers From Power of Color at the Columbus Museum
Title: Formulation: Articulation, Folio I, Folder I, 1972
Artist: Josef Albers (German-American 1888-1976)
Medium: Color Serigraph
Columbus Museum purchase made possible by the Endowment Fund in honor of D.A. Turner 84.23.1
Image Courtesy: Columbus Museum of Art

Harmony and proportion, issues in abstract painting, intrigued Josef Albers.

The Power of Color
The Columbus Museum
through October 1, 2006

Formulation: Articulation, Folio I, Folder I, 1972 by Josef Albers From Power of Color at the Columbus Museum
Title: Formulation: Articulation, Folio I, Folder I, 1972
Artist: Josef Albers (German-American 1888-1976)
Medium: Color Serigraph
Columbus Museum purchase made possible by the Endowment Fund in honor of D.A. Turner 84.23.1
Image Courtesy: The Columbus Museum

First as a student and then a teacher at Germany's Bauhaus he focused on both fine and applied arts. Among his interests was the constructionist side of Bauhaus theory while working in the glass and furniture workshops. Albers designed one of the earliest laminated wood chairs.

Formulation: Articulation, Folio I, Folder I8, 1972 by Josef Albers From Power of Color at the Columbus Museum
Title: Formulation: Articulation, Folio I, Folder I8, 1972
Artist: Josef Albers (German-American 1888-1976)
Medium: Color Serigraph
Columbus Museum purchase made possible by the Endowment Fund in honor of D.A. Turner 84.23.18
Image Courtesy: The Columbus Museum

Forced to flee Nazi Germany in 1933, after the regime closed the Bauhaus, he and his wife emigrated to the United States, settling in North Carolina. He took up a teaching position at Black Mountain College before accepting the chairman position of the Department of Design at the Yale University School of Art. The later move took place in 1950. It was after his move to Yale that he began his exploration for his Homage to the Square series.

Formulation: Articulation, Folio I, Folder I8, 1972 by Josef Albers From Power of Color at the Columbus Museum
Title: Formulation: Articulation, Folio I, Folder I8, 1972
Artist: Josef Albers (German-American 1888-1976)
Medium: Color Serigraph
Columbus Museum purchase made possible by the Endowment Fund in honor of D.A. Turner 84.23.18
Image Courtesy: The Columbus Museum

Formulation: Articulation, Folio I, Folder 31, 1972 by Josef Albers From Power of Color at the Columbus Museum
Title: Formulation: Articulation, Folio I, Folder 3I, 1972
Artist: Josef Albers (German-American 1888-1976)
Medium: Color Serigraph
Columbus Museum purchase made possible by the Endowment Fund in honor of D.A. Turner 84.23.31
Image Courtesy: The Columbus Museum

The series usually featured at most 3 or 4 squares of varied size and color. Importantly they were superimposed as a nest with vertical symmetry. The clarity of his design was of its simplicity. Rarely did he vary the intensity of the colors of the squares, his point being an exploration of color phenomena. The result was an optical illusion. Looking at the images they often took on a three dimensional appearance.

Formulation: Articulation, Folio I, Folder 31, 1972 by Josef Albers From Power of Color at the Columbus Museum
Title: Formulation: Articulation, Folio I, Folder 3I, 1972
Artist: Josef Albers (German-American 1888-1976)
Medium: Color Serigraph
Columbus Museum purchase made possible by the Endowment Fund in honor of D.A. Turner 84.23.31
Image Courtesy: The Columbus Museum

Albers was among the most influential artist and theorist of the past century. He is known for his research into the optical effects created by controlled color combination within elementary geometric forms such as the square. It was important to the artist to bring clarity to his audience; he included notes on the backs of his paintings to illustrate the paints, varnishes and spatial proportions of the mathematical schemes.

Formulation: Articulation, Folio I, Folder 29, 1972 by Josef Albers From Power of Color at the Columbus Museum
Title: Formulation: Articulation, Folio II, Folder 29, 1972
Artist: Josef Albers (German-American 1888-1976)
Medium: Color Serigraph
Columbus Museum purchase made possible by the Endowment Fund in honor of D.A. Turner 84.23.62
Image Courtesy: The Columbus Museum

Josef Albers: The Power of Color contains a selection of serigraph prints from two folios entitled Formulation: Articulation that were published by Harry N. Abrams in 1972. The Columbus Museum's permanent collection contains 66 prints from his major series including, Tectonics (1941-1942), Structural Constellations (1949-1976), Variants (1947-1955) and Homage to the Square (1950-1975).

Formulation: Articulation, Folio I, Folder 29, 1972 by Josef Albers From Power of Color at the Columbus Museum
Title: Formulation: Articulation, Folio II, Folder 29, 1972
Artist: Josef Albers (German-American 1888-1976)
Medium: Color Serigraph
Columbus Museum purchase made possible by the Endowment Fund in honor of D.A. Turner 84.23.62
Image Courtesy: The Columbus Museum


Josef Albers: Power of Color
The Columbus Museum, Georgia:
through Octber 1, 2006

Columbus Museum

www.columbusmuseum.com

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