SP VIII, 1967

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Bequest of Bruce B. Daytonexpand_more  2016.33.48

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Josef Albers taught modernist art theory at Germany's Bauhaus until the Nazis forced its closure in 1933. He then left for America, where he continued his teaching and investigations into the interaction of colors. Around 1950, he began his "Homage to the Square" series, which preoccupied him for the rest of life. In more than one thousand paintings, prints, drawings, and tapestries, he studied the effects that adjacent colors have on one another and the illusions of space such juxtapositions could produce. All the compositions feature squares, which appear to be stacked or nested, as seen in this screenprint, which comes from a portfolio of twelve published in 1967. Though he had scientific goals for his work, its great popularity was due to its kinship with the hard-edged abstraction and op-art that followed in Albers's wake.

Details
Title
SP VIII
Artist Life
American (born Germany), 1888–1976
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2016.33.48
Provenance
(Dayton’s Gallery 12, Minneapolis [G04161; F1524-50], sold to Dayton, 1967); Bruce B. Dayton, Wayzata, Minn., 1967-died 2015 (inv. no. 67-10); Estate of Bruce B. Dayton; bequeathed to MIA, 2016.
Catalogue Raisonne
Danilowitz 175.8
Curator Approved

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