Albers in Mexico reveals the profound link between the magnificent art and architecture of ancient Mesoamerica and Albers's abstract works on canvas and paper. 'Mexico is truly the promised land of abstract art', Josef Albers once wrote to Vassily Kandinsky. Albers in Mexico reveals the profound link between the magnificent art and architecture of ancient Mesoamerica and Albers's abstract works on canvas and paper. With his wife, the artist Anni Albers, he visited Mexico and other Latin American countries more than a dozen times from 1935 to 1968, where he toured pre-Columbian archeological sites and monuments. On each visit, Albers took blackand- white photographs of the pyramids, shrines, sanctuaries and landscapes in and around these ancient sites, often grouping multiple images printed at various scales onto 8 x 10 inch sheets. The result was nearly 200 photo-collages that illustrate formal characteristics of the pre-Columbian aesthetic. Albers in Mexico brings together rarely exhibited photographs, photo-collages, prints and significant paintings from the Homage to the Square and Variants/Adobe series from the Guggenheim Museum collection and the Anni and Josef Albers Foundation. This catalogue includes two scholarly essays, Albers's poetry from the period and an illustrated map, as well as rich colour reproductions of paintings and works on paper.
Small-Great Objects presents a remarkable look into the art-collecting practices of two of modern art's most widely influential figures, Anni (1899-1994) and Josef (1888-1976) Albers. Their impressive collection of over 1,400 objects from Latin America, namely Mexico and Peru, represents a conscious endeavor that goes well beyond that of a casual hobby, displaying a deep appreciation for the art, textiles, and overall ingenuity of the ancient American world. This insightful book draws on primary-source materials such as the couple's letters, personal papers, and archival photographs--many never before published--and demonstrates their conviction that these Prehispanic objects displayed a formal sophistication and bold abstraction that defy the prevalent conception of the works as "primitive." Moreover, it shows how the Alberses spread their appreciation of the ancient world to others, through their teachings, their writings, and their own art practices.
This survey of textile fundamentals and methods, written by the foremost textile artist of the 20th century, covers hand weaving and the loom, fundamental construction and draft notation, modified and composite weaves, early techniques of thread interlacing, interrelation of fiber and construction, tactile sensibility, and design. 9 color illustrations. 112 black-and-white plates.
A superb facsimile of the only known notebook of legendary artist Anni Albers, this publication offers insight into the methodology of a modern master. Beginning in 1970, Anni Albers filled her graph-paper notebook regularly until 1980. This rare and previously unpublished document of her working process contains intricate drawings for her large body of graphic work, as well as studies for her late knot drawings. The notebook follows Albers's deliberations and progression as a draftsman in their original form. It reveals the way she went about making complex patterns, exploring them piece by piece, line by line in a visually dramatic and mysteriously beautiful series of geometric arrangements. An afterword by Brenda Danilowitz, Chief Curator of The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, contextualizes the notebook and explores the role studies played in the development of her work.
This career-spanning exhibition catalog reveals the enormous artistic achievements--both individual and shared--of two of the greatest pioneers of twentieth-century modernism. Featuring more than two hundred and fifty works, including paintings, photographs, drawings, textiles and furniture, this essential volume traces the creative development of Josef and Anni Albers--both instrumental figures in the development of modernism and abstract art. Illustrated profusely throughout, this book features contributions from leading experts in chapters exploring the couple's relationship and important aspects of their professional partnership, including their meeting at the Bauhaus School and their influential years at Black Mountain College in North Carolina. Wide-ranging essays examine topics such as the influence of Pre-Colombian art; Josef's masterwork Homage to the Square; Anni's jewelry and works on paper; Josef's famed classes at Yale University; and Anni's years as a graphic designer after her husband's death. Both artists are celebrated for their lasting achievements in their respective fields--Josef for his color theory classes at Yale, Anni for her innovative use of unconventional materials. Readers will come away with an appreciation for the Albers' experimentation and innovation; their collaboration and teamwork; their dedication to education and mentorship; and the many ways their work challenged
"Features all aspects of the artist's long career: paintings, prints, furniture, household objects, works in glass, photographs, and pre-Columbian sculptures"--
A spectacular and unprecedented visual biography of the leading pioneers and protagonists of modern art and design Josef - painter, designer, and teacher - and Anni Albers - textile artist and printmaker - are among the twentieth century's most important abstract artists, and this is the first monograph to celebrate the rich creative output and beguiling relationship of these two masters in one elegant volume. It presents their life and work as never before, from their formative years at the Bauhaus in Germany to their remarkable influence at Black Mountain College in the United States through their intensely productive period in Connecticut. Accessibly written, the book is packed with more than 750 artworks, archival images, and documents - many published here for the first time - all tracing the remarkable lives and careers of this legendary couple. Dispersed throughout area series of short essays on artists that focuses on the Alberses relationship with a number of important artists and architects of the 20th century, like Ruth Asawa, Marcel Breuer, Merce Cunningham, Philip Johnson, Paul Klee, Jacob Lawrence, and many more. The beautifully cloth-bound package utilizes an elegant color palette and design that speaks to the work of both artists. This comprehensive visual biography showcases the artists' rich and dynamic lives, and their infinite influence on each other, as they shared the profound conviction that art was central to human existence.
Summary: This publication presents a wealth of in part unknown colored works on paper by Josef Albers (1888-1976), documented for the first time. It was not until the German-born artist emigrated to the U.S. that he emerged as a prominent artist and influential teacher. Beginning in about 1940, Albers allowed himself to be inspired by Mexico's pre-Columbian architecture, sculpture and textile art, which led to a liberation of his aesthetic sensibilities and to unconventional, radiant pitches of color, the likes of which modern painting in Europe had never seen before. In ca. 1950, he discovered the square, in his eyes the ideal form for color. He was both a resolute painter as well as a color philosopher. Each of the works on paper presented here arouses a sensuous fascination for the phenomenality of color.