Portfolio case for the suite of ten plates entitled 'White Embossing on Gray'.
Portfolio
1971 (made)
1971 (made)
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 numberless variations on geometric themes and juxtapositions of colour in the format of rectangle and square.
He worked in a wide variety of media and in his printmaking he produced many prints in monochrome and experimented with blind embossing. The suite 'White Embossings on Gray' (WEG) are an extension of ideas formulated in 'Embossed Linear Constructions' made in 1969, where, through the total elimination of colour, the line partially de-materializes.
In WEG he used the same automatic engraving mill to cut the images into the printing plates, but instead of printing blind, the plates were also inked. As the achievement of a clean line under such conditions was difficult, a paper 'Roleaf' was specifically developed for Albers to use for this suite. This is the portfolio case for the suite.
He worked in a wide variety of media and in his printmaking he produced many prints in monochrome and experimented with blind embossing. The suite 'White Embossings on Gray' (WEG) are an extension of ideas formulated in 'Embossed Linear Constructions' made in 1969, where, through the total elimination of colour, the line partially de-materializes.
In WEG he used the same automatic engraving mill to cut the images into the printing plates, but instead of printing blind, the plates were also inked. As the achievement of a clean line under such conditions was difficult, a paper 'Roleaf' was specifically developed for Albers to use for this suite. This is the portfolio case for the suite.
Object details
| Object type | |
| Title | Portfolio case for the suite of ten plates entitled 'White Embossing on Gray'. |
| Brief description | Portfolio case for suite of 10 plates by Josef Albers:White Embossing on Gray I - X. 1971 |
| Credit line | Given by the Josef Albers Foundation |
| 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 numberless variations on geometric themes and juxtapositions of colour in the format of rectangle and square. He worked in a wide variety of media and in his printmaking he produced many prints in monochrome and experimented with blind embossing. The suite 'White Embossings on Gray' (WEG) are an extension of ideas formulated in 'Embossed Linear Constructions' made in 1969, where, through the total elimination of colour, the line partially de-materializes. In WEG he used the same automatic engraving mill to cut the images into the printing plates, but instead of printing blind, the plates were also inked. As the achievement of a clean line under such conditions was difficult, a paper 'Roleaf' was specifically developed for Albers to use for this suite. This is the portfolio case for the suite. |
| Associated objects | |
| Bibliographic reference | Gerald Nordland and Kenneth Tyler, Josef Albers White Embossings on Gray Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles, 1971. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.66:11-1994 |
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| Record created | April 1, 2009 |
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