JOSEF ALBERS | Variant/Adobe

Estate of the artist
The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, Bethany
Waddington Custot Galleries, London
Acquired from the above by the present owner

New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden; Berlin, Bauhaus-Archiv; Pori Art Museum, Josef Albers: A Retrospective, March - December 1988, cat. no. 189, p. 234, illustrated
Château de Plieux, Josef Albers au Château de Plieux, July - September 1998, cat. no. 37
Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Josef Albers: Minimal Means, Maximum Effect, April - August 2010, cat. no. 131, p. 174, illustrated in color
Paris, Galerie Denise René, Josef Albers, February - March 2012, cat. no. 6, illustrated in color
Perugia, Città di Castello, Pinacoteca Comunale, Josef Albers Arte come esperienza: i metodi di insegnamento di un maestro del Bauhaus, March - June 2013, cat. no. 41, illustrated in color
Josef Albers Museum Quadrat Bottrop, Kunst als Erfahrung: Josef Albers als Lehrer – der Maler und seine Schüler, December 2013 - March 2014
London, Waddington Custot Galleries, Josef Albers: Black and White, May - June 2014, cat. no. 6, p. 33, illustrated in color

This work is in very good condition overall. There is evidence of light handing to the edges, including a few minor, scattered pinpoint losses and some rub marks, all of which are obscured by the frame. There is a light soiling visible along the white-painted border. Under extremely close inspection, there is a diagonal abrasion in the lower left corner, a pinpoint light brown drip accretion in the upper left of the dark gray rectangle and some pinpoint scattered orange media accretions visible. Under raking light, the surface is slightly mottled, likely a result of the artist’s chosen medium and working method. Under Ultraviolet light inspection, hairline parts of the aforementioned diagonal abrasion and some of the surrounding area fluoresces darkly and a minor pinpoint spot in the dark gray rectangle also fluoresce darkly. Framed.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

"All Variants are built on an underlying checkerboard-like structure. This provides a definitive relationship of all parts and therefore unification of form...The underlying units—permit a precise relationship of the areal quantities of the colors used...As to the colors themselves, they are unmixed. They are applied with a palette knife directly from the tube to the panel, in one primary coat without under or over painting, without any correction...Consequently I have deprived myself of great light contrasts. As there are no shaded or tinted colors, there is no modulation, all color areas are flat and of definite shapes joining along the contours tightly...The appearance of translucency or intermixture or film-like overlapping are achieved by the proper juxtaposition of pure color only."
Josef Albers

This work will be included in the Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings by Josef Albers currently being prepared by the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, and is registered under 1976.1.1155.