Josef Albers

Joesph Albers entered the Bauhaus in 1920 aged 32, this was the beginning of his career in colour.

Homage to the square was his most signature series, encompassing over 1000 related works, which Albers began in 1949 and continued to develop until his death in 1976. He chose the square because it's a single, repeated geometric shape, which he theorised was devoid of symbolism. This meant he could systematically and freely experiment with colour relativity and the relationship different colours have with each other. Including juxtaposition, placement, attraction and resistance and finally movement. Different pallets can create different climates and a selection of just three colours combined can show individual moods and associations, different for every viewer. He worked passionately on a range of optical and psychological effects that colour can create, depending on their position and proximity with each other. In fact he even suggested that colour, rather than form, is the primary medium of pictorial language. Albers's 1963 book Interaction of Color provided the most all-encompassing analysis of the function and perception of colour to date.