Preface for the suite of ten plates 'Ten Variants'
Print
1969 (made)
1969 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Josef Albers became one of the most influential figures of the 20th century avant-garde. He worked in a variety of media but has become widely recognised through his later printed work, based on the exploration of colour.
In 1949 he wrote a definitive text on colour theory, which he used 20 years later as a preface to the suite 'Ten Variants' but soon after writing it he began work on the series of coloured squares and rectangles which came to dominate his work and which explored the idea of colour as an illusion, depending on context. "We do not see colours as they really are" he wrote "in our perception they alter one another"
In 1949 he wrote a definitive text on colour theory, which he used 20 years later as a preface to the suite 'Ten Variants' but soon after writing it he began work on the series of coloured squares and rectangles which came to dominate his work and which explored the idea of colour as an illusion, depending on context. "We do not see colours as they really are" he wrote "in our perception they alter one another"
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Preface for the suite of ten plates 'Ten Variants' (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Letterpress on paper |
| Brief description | Josef Albers: preface for the suite of ten screenprints 'Ten Variants' 1969 |
| Physical description | sheet of text |
| Production type | Limited edition |
| Credit line | Given by the Josef Albers Foundation |
| Production | This suite and its preface are accompanied by a portfolio case |
| Summary | Josef Albers became one of the most influential figures of the 20th century avant-garde. He worked in a variety of media but has become widely recognised through his later printed work, based on the exploration of colour. In 1949 he wrote a definitive text on colour theory, which he used 20 years later as a preface to the suite 'Ten Variants' but soon after writing it he began work on the series of coloured squares and rectangles which came to dominate his work and which explored the idea of colour as an illusion, depending on context. "We do not see colours as they really are" he wrote "in our perception they alter one another" |
| Associated objects | |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.59:11-1994 |
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| Record created | March 6, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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