Josef Albers - the Josef & Anni Albers Foundation

Josef Albers (1888–1976) was a German-born artist, educator and one of the most influential colour theorists of the twentieth century. Through his teaching at the Bauhaus, Black Mountain College and Yale University, and through his landmark publication Interaction of Color, he changed how generations of artists, architects and designers understand colour.

About

Josef Albers began his career at the Bauhaus, where he studied before becoming one of the school's most influential teachers. Alongside his wife, the pioneering textile artist Anni Albers, he helped shape a new understanding of design that united art, craft and education. Following the closure of the Bauhaus in 1933, the couple emigrated to the United States, where Albers continued teaching at Black Mountain College and later Yale University.

Rather than presenting colour as a fixed system, Albers argued that colour is always relational. The same colour can appear lighter or darker, warmer or cooler, depending entirely on its surroundings. Through observation and experimentation, he encouraged students to develop their own visual understanding rather than memorising theoretical rules.

Published in 1963, Interaction of Color remains one of the most influential books ever written on colour. More than six decades later, it continues to shape the work of architects, artists, designers and educators around the world, establishing Albers as one of the defining figures in modern colour theory.

For Blēo, Josef Albers represents one of the foundations of contemporary colour thinking. His belief that colour is shaped by context, light and perception continues to inform the way we understand architectural surfaces and how colour changes in relation to the space around it.

All images are courtesy of the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation.