1. Anni Albers, Mountainous, 1978, © Silvia Cappellari, produced by Designtex, 2019.
Beyond the squares and the forms of the Bauhaus
The Boghossian Foundation present for the first time in Belgium a comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the pioneering modernist artists Josef and Anni Albers. This exhibition present around 100 seminal works, including paintings, assemblages, photographs, graphic works, textiles, films and furnitures most of them coming from the museum of modern art of Paris, where the estate gave an important holding of works in 2023.
Thus, the show will feature key works, which encapsulate the evolution of both artists and educators and their contributions to modernism. Visitors will have the opportunity to see iconic pieces such as Josef’s "Homage to the Square" series and Anni’s intricate textiles and graphic works.
Artistic journey and mutual influence
2. Josef and Anni Albers, 1935, © 2024, The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation
Josef and Anni Albers met at the Bauhaus in Germany, a hub for modernist thought and experimentation. While their partnership began in 1922 and flourished over the decades, marked by mutual inspiration and collaborative exploration, the show traces their journey from the Bauhaus to their influential years at Black Mountain College in the United States, and finally to their later works produced in Connecticut.
Going above their creation, the show also highlights their role as influential educators of color theory, materiality, and form who have left an indelible mark on modern and contemporary art. Thus, it was fitting to have part of the exhibition open to contemporary artists who resonate with their thinking or practice such as Olivier Gourvil, Linda Karshan, Mehdi Moutashar, Vico Persson, Leïla Pile, Charlotte von Poehl, Damien Poulain, Chloé Vanderstraeten, and Bernard Villers.
“The ultimate aim of all visual arts is the complete building! […] Architects, sculptors, painters, we must all return to the crafts! For art is not a "profession" There is no essential difference between the artist and the craftsman.”
The rundown of the exhibition
These words from the Bauhaus Manifesto, published in April 1919 by its founder, the architect Walter Gropius, deeply resonated with Josef Albers and Annelise Fleischmann. Both artists felt a growing dissatisfaction with their own artistic training, Josef at the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, and Annelise at the University of Applied Arts in Hamburg.
The Bauhaus's goal of fostering an interdisciplinary dialogue and leading students toward creative individual autonomy aligned perfectly with their artistic aspirations and educational philosophy. They valued learning through practical experience and sought to enhance visual and tactile awareness of materials and surrounding phenomena.
Annelise Fleischmann applied to the Bauhaus in 1922. Initially rejected, she was accepted in April of that year.
At the Bauhaus, she found a vibrant, communal atmosphere and quickly bonded with her colleagues, including Josef Albers. The two artists began a relationship and married in 1925, with Annelise becoming Anni Albers.
After completing the preliminary course led by Johannes Itten, Anni joined the textile workshop in 1923. Despite the theoretical principle of gender equality at the Bauhaus, the textile workshop was often seen as a "women's class."Initially hesitant, Anni embraced weaving, finding inspiration and freedom in the medium. The Bauhaus's environment allowed her to experiment freely, leading to innovative and influential work in textiles.
In April 1925, political pressure forced the Bauhaus to move from Weimar to Dessau, where a new building designed by Walter Gropius was opened in December 1926.
This modern architectural marvel, with its interplay of vertical and horizontal lines and surfaces, symbolized the Bauhaus philosophy.
Both Anni and Josef Albers responded creatively to this new environment, Josef developed a language of architectonic forms using cased glass (a technique consisting in covering a piece of opaque or transparent white glass with a thin layer of hand coloured blown glass), while Anni created large strips of woven silk called Wallhangings. Their works, though distinct in medium, shared a vision of formal balance and structural energy. This period marked a significant collaboration where their works echoed and complemented each other.
Starting in 1926, Josef Albers expanded his artistic repertoire to include furnitures and everyday objects, contributing to the creation of a Bauhaus specific typeface called Universal. His work with various materials, wood, glass, metal, emphasized simplicity, functionality, and the intrinsic properties of the materials. By 1928, Josef's interest in photography led to new explorations in form and perspective. His collages and photomontages offered innovative interpretations of space, using close-ups and cinematic techniques to reveal patterns and shapes.
In 1933, as the Bauhaus was dissolved under Nazi pressure, Josef and Anni Albers were invited to teach at Black Mountain College in North Carolina, thanks to the recommendation of Philip Johnson, then curator at MoMA. Black Mountain College, with its progressive, experimental approach to education, was a perfect fit for the couple. Here, they extended the Bauhaus's educational values, emphasizing experimentation, material exploration and interdisciplinary dialogue. Anni established an experimental weaving workshop, while Josef headed the art department, fostering a creative and collaborative environment that attracted leading figures in various fields, including John Cage, Merce Cunningham, and Robert Rauschenberg.
3. Josef Albers, 2 Yellow, 2 Red, Cadmiums and Blue around Violet Center, 1947, © The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, Oil on fabric
The couple growing interest in Latin American cultures profoundly influenced their teaching and artistic output. Between 1935 and 1967, they made numerous trips to Mexico and other Latin American countries, visiting archaeological sites and collecting ancient objects and textiles. Josef documented these travels with hundreds of photographs, capturing the intricate details of pyramids and shrines. Anni incorporated traditional techniques and materials from pre-Columbian cultures into her weaving workshop, enriching her students learning experiences and her own artistic practice. Their works began to reflect the symbolic and communicative power of these ancient weavings, integrating these influences into their modernist aesthetic.
In 1947, Josef Albers began his series "Variants" or "Adobes," inspired by the brightly colored, geometric compositions of Mexican adobe houses. These works were built on a checkerboard-like structure, emphasizing the relationship between parts to achieve formal unification. By 1949, Josef developed the "Structural Constellations," exploring visual ambiguity and optical illusions. Through these works, he demonstrated how simple geometric shapes could create imaginary depths and multiple interpretations, pushing the boundaries of visual perception and representation.
4. Anni Albers, Intersecting, 1962, © Josef Albers Museum Quadrat Bottrop
In the 1950s, Anni Albers created smaller, hand-woven works intended solely for visual appreciation. Free from utilitarian constraints, these "pictorial weavings" allowed her to explore unique forms and patterns. Using small handlooms and techniques like leno or gaze, she crafted strong yet transparent fabrics, highlighting the structure of the weaving itself. Anni described this process as letting threads "be articulate again," creating works meant only "to be looked at." This period marked a significant exploration of weaving as an independent art form.
Beginning in 1950, Josef Albers embarked on his iconic series "Homage to the Square," which he continued until his death in 1976. This series, comprising over two thousand paintings, focused on the interaction of colors. Using four basic square formats, Josef abandoned compositional invention to explore color relationships. He demonstrated how colors change in perception based on their surroundings, illustrating the difference between factual and actual visual experience. Each painting in "Homage to the Square" serves as both an educational lesson in color theory and an object of aesthetic contemplation.
In 1962, Josef Albers was invited to the Tamarind Lithography Workshop in Los Angeles. Anni joined him in 1963 and was captivated by printmaking. She gradually shifted from weaving to printmaking, experimenting with lithography, silkscreen, offset printing, and etching. Anni's prints reflected her textile background, using grids and patterns influenced by pre-Columbian art.
Short biography of the artist couple
Josef Albers was born on March 19, 1888, in Bottrop, a small mining village in the industrial Ruhr region of Germany. As the eldest son of a working-class Catholic family, Josef grew up with a strong work ethic and a keen interest in art and education.
Annelise Else Frieda Fleischmann, known as Anni, was born on June 12, 1899, in Berlin. She was raised in a bourgeois family of Jewish origin that had converted to Protestantism, providing her with a diverse cultural background.
In 1920, Josef joined the Bauhaus school, a pioneering institution in art, design, and architecture, just six months after its opening. Two years later, in 1922, Anni was also admitted to the Bauhaus and became part of the textile workshop, where she developed her skills and unique artistic voice.
Their relationship blossomed at the Bauhaus, and on May 9, 1925, Josef and Anni were married in Berlin. The couple's partnership was both personal and professional, marked by mutual inspiration and collaboration.
In 1933, with the Bauhaus dissolved under pressure from the Nazi regime, Josef and Anni were invited to teach at Black Mountain College, an experimental school in Asheville, North Carolina. This move marked the beginning of their influential careers in the United States.
The couple made their first trip to Mexico in 1935, a country they would visit more than a dozen times throughout their lives. The vibrant colors and rich cultural heritage of Mexico profoundly influenced their work.
In 1939, Josef and Anni became American citizens, solidifying their ties to their adopted country. In 1949, they left Black Mountain College due to disagreements with the institution's new direction. That same year, Anni held a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, showcasing her innovative textiles.
In 1950, Josef accepted the position of head of the new Design Department at Yale University. During this time, he began his iconic series "Homage to the Square," exploring the interaction of colors and forms.
Anni published her influential book "On Designing" in 1959, followed by "On Weaving" in 1965, solidifying her reputation as a leading textile artist and theorist. Meanwhile, Josef's major work, "Interaction of Color," was published in 1963, becoming a seminal text in color theory.
In the early 1960s, the couple began collaborating with the Tamarind Lithography Workshop in Los Angeles, further expanding their artistic practices. By 1968, Anni had gradually shifted her focus from weaving to printmaking.
Josef Albers passed away on March 25, 1976, in New Haven, Connecticut. Despite his death, Anni continued her artistic endeavors, leaving a lasting legacy in the world of art and design. Anni Albers died on May 9, 1994, in Orange, Connecticut.
Informations about the exhibition
Place: Fondation Boghossian
Date: 10.4.2024 - 8.9.2024
Curators: Julia Garimorth and Edouard Detaille
Ticket: Available at the front desk of the museum
Informations about the Fondation Boghossian
Fondation Boghossian
Villa Empain
67 Avenue Franklin Roosevelt
1050 Brussels
Belgium
Phone: +32 2 627 52 30
Mail: info@boghossianfoundation.be