Heinz Liesbrock - Böcker

Josef Albers' groundbreaking series Homage to the Square comprises roughly two thousand oil paintings. His continuous reflections and refinements for more than 25 years inspired numerous young minimal and conceptual artists in their search for a reduced formal language. This outstanding catalogue explores the secret of Albers' subtle aesthetic and unearths its preconditions: What is the significance of the square? How does his impression of color and its use as a material change during this period?Featuring studies on paper, archival materials, as well as essays by internationally leading Albers experts, Margit Rowell and Donal Judd, this richly illustrated publication sheds light on the various inspirations that influenced Albers early on in Europe and later in America, and illustrates the lasting impact of his art and thinking.

Shades of grayAmerican painter James Howell found the subject of his art in the color gray. He explored the color’s sensual variety diligently over decades. In 2022, the Josef Albers Museum in Bottrop dedicated an exhibition to Howell presenting his work in the context of Albers’ paintings. This catalogue documents this remarkable artistic encounter and explores Howell’s work in all its conceptual depth, transcending the seemlingly monothematic of the color gray. His paintings are meditations on the relationship between color and light, based on a refinement of painterly means that, despite their extreme reduction, allow for a paradoxical emphasis on expression.