“Mexico is truly
the promised land of abstract art.”
Josef Albers
Peggy Guggeneheim Collection
Albers in Mexico
At
the Peggy Guggenehim Collection the
exhibition Albers in Mexico, curated
by Lauren Hinkson, until September
3, illuminates the relationship between the forms and design of pre-Columbian monuments and the art of Josef Albers (1888 - 1976). It also
includes a rich selection of photographs and photo-collages, created by Albers
in response to frequent visits to Mexican
archaeological sites beginning in the 1930s. With letters, studies, and unseen
personal photographs Josef Albers in
Mexico presents an opportunity to learn about the least known aspect of his
practice, photography, offering new perspective on his most celebrated abstract
works.
Luminous Day – 1947-52 – oil on Masonite
Pink-Orange Surrounded by 4 Grays – 1947-52 – oil on Masonite
Variant/Adobe -1947-52 – oil on Masonite
Albers in Mexico
Anni and Josef Albers – Mitla – 1956
Josef Albers - Mitla – 1935-39
Anni Albers – Monte Alban – 1939
Siegfried and Toni Fleischmann +
unidentified people
Teotihuacan – 1937
"In art, tradition is to create, not to revive.”
Josef Albers
Untitled Abstraction – ca. 1940 – oil on blotting paper
The
works inspired by his decades of travel in Mexico
reflect his deep affinities with ancient art while exemplifying a modernist
ethic of rigorous experimentation in form, composition, and color theory.
Copyright Josef Albers - SIAE 2018 – courtesy PGC
Josef Albers
Grand Pyramid – Tenayuca - 1937
Gelatin silver print -
photograph
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum – N.Y. - Gift, The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation
To Monte Alban – 1942 – Lithograph
Josef Alber's encounters with the ruins
of Mexico deepened his interest in
photography and advanced his experiments in abstract art. He took thousands of
pictures on his travels, later combining many of these images to produce photo-collages with grid-like
compositions. This body of work illuminates the indelible impact Albers time in
Mexico had on his larger practice.
Masonry “Serpent” Sculptures – surrounding the base
Grand Pyramid – Tenayuca – ca. 1935-39
Gelatin silver prints
– photographs
Tenayuca I – 1942 – oil on Masonite
Copyright Josef Albers - SIAE 2018 – courtesy PGC
Josef Albers
Mitla - 1956
Gelatin silver prints
and postcards, mounted to paperboard
The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation
Homage to the Square
Open (b) – December 1940 - oil on Masonite