Josef & Anni Albers, Barcelona, Spain (2022)

Josef Albers  (1888-1976)

German born Josef Albers (1888-1976) was one of the early Bauhaus (1) students and then teachers until he emigrated to the US in the 1930s. Albers initially taught in Asheville, NC and later at Yale. He and his wife Anni were enamored with Latin America, which would become integral to his artistic development as it was through his travels and creative explorations that Albers realized the work he did at Bauhaus was predated by early Colombian artists.

Albers is known for his work, Interaction of Color (1963), which developed the premise that colors placed next to each other would affect how they interacted with each other and were perceived by viewers. While his work often lacks emotion (IMHO), the direct ‘flatness’ of these seemingly simple color studies of yellows and reds demonstrated his theory.

Anni Albers (1890-1994)

His wife and artistic partner Anni (1890-1994), also German born and a Bauhaus student, explored color interplays, primarily though textiles as well as printmaking. Like so many of the women behind the (great) men, her work was overshadowed. So I was particularly happy to see her share the billing in this show. I love this exploration of purplish blue squares: It vibrates with emotion.

(1) The Bauhaus school was founded in 1919 in Weimar, Germany by architect Walter Gropius (1883–1969). Its core objective was to reinterpret the material world to reflect the unity of the arts, specifically architecture, sculpture, and painting. The school promoted a craft-based curriculum while combining elements of both fine arts and design education. (Metropolitan Museum of Art).