October 2001
Geometrical Affairs
New acquisitions and works from the collection
Sylvie Fleury
John Armleder
Gottfried HoneggerCamille Graeser
Gail Haistings
Karin Sander
Josef Albers
Josef Albers
1888-1976/DHomage to the Square: "Between 2 Scarlets", 1962
Oil on masonite, 101 x 101 cm
Josef Albers set down the results of his research into the effects of colour in his book "Interaction of Color" (1963), and also demonstrated the ideas in his 50s picture series Homage to the Square. He developed a pictorial type using three or four encapsulated squares based on a square grid. The aim was to present autonomous colour as the "carrier of the pictorial action", and to show colour interactions that could be modified at will.
His central creative proposition - achieving maximum effect with minimum effort - is more than an economical principle. Albers perceived his art philosophically, as a parallel to life. He wanted Homage to the Square to provide "meditation panels" for the 20th century.
