Josef ALBERS
(1888 – 1876)
Josef Albers radically changed our understanding of colour and its impact on human perception. His groundbreaking works, particularly his iconic Homage to the Square series, have profoundly transformed the way artists, designers and educators approach colour theory.
In 1963, Albers published ‘Interaction of Color’, a fundamental text in the teaching of art and design. He asserted that colour ‘is almost never seen as it really is’ and that ‘colour continually deceives’. He claims that the study of colour requires experience, experimentation and observation.
The specific use of colour in simple geometric shapes shows how colours can influence each other and how the visual perception of one colour is affected by the shades adjacent to it (chromatic interaction).
Albers' specific approach to colour produces an illusion of space and depth, as in this poster designed for the Munich Olympic Games in 1972.
