ALBERS. Kooning, Elaine De & Colm Tobin. Josef Albers: Midnight and Noon

David Zwirner Books

2017

Book ID: 101259

Exploring the origins of Josef Albers' groundbreaking Homage to the Square in the exquisite palettes of day and night. Using minimal means paint straight from the tube, applied meticulously with a palette knife and a focused selection of colors, Josef AlbersÕ sustained, serial investigation into rhythm, mood and spatial movement is explored in this lavishly produced volume that looks solely at his respective grey and yellow paintings, exploring two distinct color palettes pervasive to his oeuvre. Highlighting the rich diversity of effects Albers drew from a narrow range of colors, this publication centers around the groundbreaking ÒHomage to the Square (A)Ó (1950), the inaugural painting in the series that would occupy the artist until his death in 1976. The pairing of two palettes black, white and grey and an array of yellows stems in part from AlbersÕ 1964 series of lithographs, Midnight and Noon, which brought together these two opposing color sets in a single portfolio. Together they address the limitless possibilities the artist found in color and form in relation to light. The impossible simultaneity of ÒmidnightÓ and ÒnoonÓ moreover speaks to AlbersÕ transcending of what he called Òfactual factsÓ in favor of the play of perception and illusion possible in art. Opening with an introduction by Nicholas Fox Weber, Executive Director of The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, that contextualizes these works and their color palettes, this volume also includes AlbersÕ own writing on Homage to the Square. Additionally, Elaine de KooningÕs historic text and Colm T—ib’nÕs recent writing explore this body of work from different perspectives and time periods. Published on the occasion of exhibitions at David ZwirnerÕs New York and London galleries in 2016 and 2017, this beautifully illustrated publication looks at one of the most influential abstract painters of the 20th century.

144 pp. English Cl.