Josef AlbersJosef Albers vinyl record art c.1963
c.1963
About the Item
- Creator:Josef Albers (1888 - 1976, American, German)
- Creation Year:c.1963
- Dimensions:Height: 12 in (30.48 cm)Width: 12 in (30.48 cm)Depth: 0.2 in (5.08 mm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:NEW YORK, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU35437454522
Josef Albers
The German-born American painter, writer, and educator Josef Albers was a pioneer of 20th century modernism, and an innovative practitioner of color theory. With his wife, the textile artist and printmaker Anni Albers (1899–1994), he shaped the development of a generation of American artists and designers through his teaching at the experimental Black Mountain College in North Carolina, and later at Yale University School of Art, where he was the chairman of the department of design from 1950–1958. Albers is widely known for his series of prints and paintings "Homages to the Square," which he created between 1950 and 1975. His influential volume on color theory The Interaction of Color was published in 1963.
Albers was born in Bottrop, Germany, and as a young man he studied art education, earning certification from the Königliche Kunstschule in Berlin in 1915. He entered the legendary Bauhaus school in Weimar in 1920. The Bauhaus had been established by Walter Gropius in 1919, in the immediate aftermath of World War I, with the hope that its innovative curriculum would foster connections between architecture, art, and traditional crafts. In 1923 Albers began teaching the Vorkurs, the introductory class in which new students learned to work with each of the key artists’ materials, along with color theory, composition, construction and design.
Albers was a polymath, and the multidisciplinary environment of the Bauhaus was fertile ground for his artistic ambitions. When the school moved from Weimar to Dessau in 1925, he became a full professor, and in addition to glass and metal, he designed typefaces and furniture. While at the Bauhaus, Albers drew inspiration from the work of his colleagues, the color theorist Johannes Itten, and the painter, photographer, and designer László Moholy-Nagy, with whom he co-taught the Vorkurs.
In 1933, the Bauhaus was shut down due to pressure from the Nazi Party, which perceived the school as being sympathetic to communist intellectuals. As Albers’ wife Anni was Jewish, the couple resolved to leave Germany, and settled in rural North Carolina. The architect Philip Johnson helped make arrangements for Albers to join the faculty of Black Mountain College as the head of the painting program, where he remained until 1949. While at Black Mountain, both Josef and Anni Albers became influential mentors to American artists including Ruth Asawa, Cy Twombly, and Robert Rauschenberg, while working alongside fellow professors Buckminster Fuller, John Cage, Merce Cunningham and William de Kooning.
In 1950, Albers joined the faculty of the Yale University School of Art where he would head the newly established Department of Design until his retirement in 1958. In the 1950s, the Alberses began taking trips to Mexico, where the colors and forms of the local art and architecture inspired both artists.
In 1971, Albers became the first living artist whose work was the subject of a solo retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Though they worked in different mediums, Josef and Anni Albers’ work shares a fascination with color and geometry. Josef Albers’ compositions from the "Homages to the Square" series, such as Formulation: Articulation Portfolio II Folder 28 (B), from 1972, give deceptively simple shapes a novel vibrance as colors play off of one another. The hues in Articulation Portfolio II Folder 28 (B) work in concert to give the flat surface the distinct appearance of a tunnel or other three-dimensional space; while the form on the left appears to move towards the viewer, the form on the right seems to lead directly into the canvas. Similarly, Anni Albers’ designs for textiles use graphic design to lend a sense of dynamism to flat works. Her Study for Unexecuted Wall Hanging (Bauhaus), from 1984 is a Mondrian-like pattern for a weaving in which different colors alternately recede and advance into the foreground, giving the image a sense of complexity and uncanny depth.
Josef Albers also created works of public art, including a delicate, geometric gold leaf mural called Two Structural Constellations for the lobby of the Corning Glass building in New York City in 1959. He designed a work called Two Portals for the lobby of the Time & Life Building in 1961, in which which and brown bands move towards two square panels made of bronze. Walter Gropius invited Albers to create a piece for the Pan Am Building, which he was designing with the architectural firm of Emery Roth & Sons. Albers reworked an existing glass piece from his Bauhaus days called City, and, fittingly, renamed it Manhattan.
Find a collection of authentic Josef Albers art on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: New York, NY
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 2 days of delivery.
- Josef Albers record art set of 4 works (Albers album art)By Josef AlbersLocated in NEW YORK, NYJosef Albers Album Art circa late 1950s: A set of 4 vinyl record covers (containing their records) brilliantly designed by Josef Albers between 1958 and 1960. Looks fantastic framed ...Category
Mid-20th Century Modern Prints and Multiples
MaterialsLithograph, Offset
- 1950s Josef Albers record cover art: set of 7 works (Albers album art)By Josef AlbersLocated in NEW YORK, NYJosef Albers Album Art complete set of 7 circa late 1950s: A set of 7 vinyl record covers (containing their records) brilliantly designed by Josef Albers between 1958 and 1960. The s...Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Prints and Multiples
MaterialsLithograph, Offset
- Dennis Hopper Out of the Sixties exhibit poster (Dennis Hopper Biker Couple)By Dennis HopperLocated in NEW YORK, NYDennis Hopper, Out of the Sixties 1986 exhibit poster published Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York 1986 Image: Dennis Hopper's Biker Couple' (1961) Off-set lithograph. 17 x 24 inche...Category
1960s American Modern Photography
MaterialsOffset
- Tomi Ungerer Evergreen Review poster, 1967 (protest posters)By Tomi UngererLocated in NEW YORK, NYVintage original Tomi Ungerer, Vietnam protest poster, Evergreen Review, 1967: Grove Press publisher Barney Rosset began Evergreen review in 1957 as a literary quarterly featuring the likes of Sartre, Camus and Beckett as well as American poets Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Jack Kerouac. By 1966, the publication had increased its frequency and become a voice of political iconoclasm, so graphic designer John Alcorn refreshed its look, dropping "review" from the title in the process. Heralding the redesign was a new advertising Campaign : "Join The Underground." Here, a poster for the February 1967, number utilizes cover artwork by noted illustrator and satirist Tomi Ungerer: a coolie-hatted image of Uncle Sam, sunk in the quagmire of Vietnam and displeased with the face he presents to the mirror. Off-set lithograph. Measure: 30 x 45 inches. Some signs of minor handling; otherwise very good condition for its age. Unsigned from an edition of unknown. Original 1st printing. About the artist Tomi Ungerer is best known for his witty children's books, as well as being a successful political commentator, prolific writer, and erotic artist. Born in Strasbourg in 1931, he first gained notoriety after moving to New York in 1956 and creating illustrations for magazines such as Esquire, Life, Harper’s Bazaar, The Village Voice, and The New York Times. Ungerer is now internationally renowned for his etched caricatures imbued with sharp social satire. During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s Ungerer began to branch out from advertising and editorial work to make personal pictorial responses to racism, fascism, and war, most notably a set of brutal anti-Vietnam war posters...Category
1960s American Modern Prints and Multiples
MaterialsLithograph, Offset
- Rare Andy Warhol Record Cover ArtBy Andy WarholLocated in NEW YORK, NYAndy Warhol Record Art: 1983 1st pressing, Miguel Bose, Mad In Spain Vinyl Album featuring Original Cover Art by Andy Warhol. Catalogue Raisonne: Paul Mare...Category
1980s Contemporary Mixed Media
MaterialsOffset
- Nara Skatebiard Deck (Yoshitomo Nara Solid Fist)By Yoshitomo NaraLocated in NEW YORK, NYYoshitomo Nara Skateboard Deck: This Nara skateboard deck was created in c. 2017 under the supervision of Nara featuring his 'Welcome Girl'. ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Street Art Prints and Multiples
MaterialsWood, Lithograph, Offset
- Toreros (4 Original Lithographs by Pablo Picasso and Jamie Sabartes)By Pablo PicassoLocated in New York, NYSabartes, Jaime Picasso – Toreros with four original lithographs Publisher: New York & Paris: George Braziller & Andre Sauret, 1961. First edition. Ha...Category
1960s Modern Mixed Media
MaterialsOffset, Lithograph
- La Conférence à la Sorbonne, 3 Juin, 1959, Lt Ed Silkscreen cover record albumsBy Yves KleinLocated in New York, NYYves Klein La Conférence à la Sorbonne, 3 Juin, 1959, 1959-1963 Two 12-inch vinyl records held in gatefold sleeve with silkscreen cover jacket in IKB International Klein Blue...Category
1960s Modern Abstract Prints
MaterialsPlastic, Mixed Media, Screen, Offset, Pencil, Board, Lithograph
- Putti DuoBy Andy WarholLocated in Toronto, OntarioAndy Warhol is arguably the most important American artist of the 20th century. In the 1950s, he was an in-demand and celebrated illustrator working for New York's toniest publicatio...Category
1950s American Modern Mixed Media
MaterialsWatercolor, Lithograph, Offset
- Ed Ruscha, Some Los Angeles Apartments - Artist's Book, Conceptual Art, Pop ArtBy Ed RuschaLocated in Hamburg, DEEd Ruscha (American, b.1937) Some Los Angeles Apartments, 1965/1970 Medium: Artist’s book (black offset printing on 100 lb. white Vicksburg Vellum text paper) Dimensions: 17.8 x 14 x...Category
20th Century Conceptual Abstract Prints
MaterialsOffset
- Book: Works on Paper 1949-1984 (Hand signed & inscribed by Helen Frankenthaler)By Helen FrankenthalerLocated in New York, NYWinning buyer: Try entering code FREESHIP for complimentary packing and shipping at checkout. (Some exceptions apply) Helen Frankenthaler Frankenthaler, Works on Paper 1949-1984 (Han...Category
1980s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
MaterialsOffset
- Exploration of the Soul with Monoprint, from the Estate of Andy Warhol's agentBy Tracey EminLocated in New York, NYTracey Emin Exploration of the Soul from the Estate of Warhol's Agent, 1994 Tipped-in monoprint (unique) and ink inscription held in Hand signed and numbered (edition of 200) & ink i...Category
1990s Contemporary Abstract Prints
MaterialsMonoprint, Fabric, Textile, Thread, Offset