Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level E , Case MP, Shelf 290

Interlinear N.32 bl[ack]

Print
1962 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

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 developed line-based structures into increasingly complex forms. Right-angles and parallel lines give way to converging or diverging lines and variable angles, and so spatial illusion also becomes more complex.

He continued this exploration throughout 1950s and early 1960s, when he also made prints from mechanically engraved plastic or metal and sometimes as blind relief intaglios. By using a mechanical means of engraving his intention was to make the line as impersonal and therefore, as purely functional, as possible.

Object details

Category
Object type
TitleInterlinear N.32 bl[ack] (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
lithograph on paper
Brief description
Josef Albers: lithograph: Interlinear N.32 bl[ack]. 1962
Physical description
Image of a geometric construction of interlocking planes, drawn in white on a black ground. The left and right margins are mottled where the ink has not been applied to total opacity. The space created is ambivalent.
Dimensions
  • Printed surface height: 48.2cm
  • Printed surface width: 63.2cm
  • Sheet height: 56.7cm
  • Sheet width: 76.3cm
Styles
Production typeLimited edition
Copy number
10/15
Marks and inscriptions
Albers '62 Interlinear N.32 bl (signed and dated in pencil and inscribed with title and number. Blind stamped with the mark of the Tamarind Lithography Workshop and the printer, Joe Funk)
Credit line
Given by the Josef Albers Foundation
Production
This print is one of a number prefixed 'Interlinear'.
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 developed line-based structures into increasingly complex forms. Right-angles and parallel lines give way to converging or diverging lines and variable angles, and so spatial illusion also becomes more complex.

He continued this exploration throughout 1950s and early 1960s, when he also made prints from mechanically engraved plastic or metal and sometimes as blind relief intaglios. By using a mechanical means of engraving his intention was to make the line as impersonal and therefore, as purely functional, as possible.
Collection
Accession number
E.47-1994

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdFebruary 13, 2009
Record URL
Download as: JSON