Multiplex D
Woodcut
1948 (printed)
1948 (printed)
| Artist/Maker |
Josef Albers became one of the most influential figures of the 20th century avant-garde, with his systematic presentation of spatial ambivalence and paradox, made through endless variations on geometric themes and juxtapositions of colour in the format of rectangle and square.
Throughout the 1940s, Albers pursued a number of experiments in printmaking. After working with modulated line, in a series of drypoints, he went on to make a series of lithographs with very precise rectangular structures. These were followed by a series of wood- and lino- cuts in some of which he plays with curvilinear patterns, in others he uses very precise, straight-line geometric patterns. It was the latter which took precedence in his work and by the late 1940s he had abandoned curvilinear form in his drawing, although in some images he was still using the grain of wood or impression of cork or linoleum to create an organic textural ground. His geometric images of the 1940s characteristically trick the eye into ambiguous readings of perspective.
Throughout the 1940s, Albers pursued a number of experiments in printmaking. After working with modulated line, in a series of drypoints, he went on to make a series of lithographs with very precise rectangular structures. These were followed by a series of wood- and lino- cuts in some of which he plays with curvilinear patterns, in others he uses very precise, straight-line geometric patterns. It was the latter which took precedence in his work and by the late 1940s he had abandoned curvilinear form in his drawing, although in some images he was still using the grain of wood or impression of cork or linoleum to create an organic textural ground. His geometric images of the 1940s characteristically trick the eye into ambiguous readings of perspective.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Multiplex D (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Woodcut on paper |
| Brief description | Woodcut by Josef Albers, entitled 'Multiplex D'. Germany-USA, 1948 |
| Physical description | composition of white lines against dark, slightly textured, ground (the pattern of the grain of the woodblock from which the image is printed). The linear pattern suggests a folding screen, or a series of open-sided, interlocking cubes, defined by lightly drawn, parallel, verticals defining the upright edges of the screen, and more substantially drawn diagonals defining its top and base, but within this 'screen' optical illusions are set up and the arrangement of the planes is ambiguous. The image is landscape format. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Styles | |
| Production type | Limited edition |
| Copy number | 5/30 |
| Marks and inscriptions | Albers 48
Multiplex D 5/30 (signed and dated in pencil and inscribed with title and number) |
| Credit line | Given by the Josef Albers Foundation |
| Production | One of a set of four prints entitled 'Multiplex A-D'. |
| Summary | Josef Albers became one of the most influential figures of the 20th century avant-garde, with his systematic presentation of spatial ambivalence and paradox, made through endless variations on geometric themes and juxtapositions of colour in the format of rectangle and square. Throughout the 1940s, Albers pursued a number of experiments in printmaking. After working with modulated line, in a series of drypoints, he went on to make a series of lithographs with very precise rectangular structures. These were followed by a series of wood- and lino- cuts in some of which he plays with curvilinear patterns, in others he uses very precise, straight-line geometric patterns. It was the latter which took precedence in his work and by the late 1940s he had abandoned curvilinear form in his drawing, although in some images he was still using the grain of wood or impression of cork or linoleum to create an organic textural ground. His geometric images of the 1940s characteristically trick the eye into ambiguous readings of perspective. |
| Associated objects | |
| Bibliographic reference | Eugen Gomringer: Josef Albers. New York, 1968, p.76 (illus.pp.99-102)
Werner Spies: Josef Albers. Stuttgart, 1971. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.37-1994 |
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| Record created | January 9, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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