Variant/Adobe: Southern Climate - Josef Albers

A study in colour interaction and geometric form, this work by Josef Albers draws inspiration from the architecture and light of Mexico.

Josef Albers began his Variant/Adobe series following his initial travels to Mexico in the mid-1930s. This specific work reflects his fascination with the architectural forms of pre-Columbian sites and the specific light conditions of the region. The composition is structured around a series of nested rectangles, a recurring motif in his practice that allows for the systematic exploration of colour interaction. In this piece, Albers employs a palette of warm, earthy tones. The arrangement of these blocks creates a sense of spatial ambiguity, where the eye perceives the shapes as shifting between foreground and background. By applying paint in flat, uniform fields, he removes the evidence of the artist's hand, allowing the viewer to focus entirely on the relationship between the hues. The central forms suggest the silhouette of a structure, yet they remain firmly rooted in the realm of pure abstraction. Albers was a teacher at the Bauhaus and later at Black Mountain College, where he developed his rigorous approach to colour theory. His work avoids narrative or emotional expression, opting instead for a precise, objective study of how colours modify one another when placed in proximity. The Southern Climate series is particularly noted for its use of ochre, terracotta, and golden yellow, which evoke the sun-drenched surfaces of adobe architecture. This print captures the precise colour relationships and the balanced, geometric order that define Albers's contribution to twentieth-century modernism.