Albers&theBauhaus

10February–12March2016PrivateView:Tuesday9February,6-8pm

JosefAlbers‘CITY’,1928–1936,TemperaonMasoniteAlbers&theBauhauswillmakeitsfocustheworld-changingdesignsthatemergedoutofthe revisionist school founded in1919by the architectWalterGropius.Central to theexhibition will be work made by Josef Albers in the 20’s and 30’s. Albers was a keyplayerinthemovement,joiningasastudentin1920andleavingamasterin1933,whenthe Bauhaus closed under pressure from the National Socialists. In the largestexhibition of Bauhaus art and design mounted by a commercial gallery, Albers & theBauhauswillfeatureAlbers’sdrawings,photographs,paintings,designpiecesandglass-works,manyofwhichhaveneverbeenshownintheUKbefore.Furniture,objects,andphotographs by Marcel Breuer, the ceramicist Otto Lindig, and Marianne Brandt willshownalongsideAlbers’swork,tocreateafullpictureoftheBauhaus,Albers’spivotalrole in it, and its huge influence over design and art. The exhibition brings togethermaterial lentbytheJosefandAnniAlbersFoundationaswellasmaterial fromprivatecollections.TheBauhausextolledtheideaofunifyingcraftandartwithmechanicalmanufacturingprocesses, made possible by the still relatively recent industrial revolution. They feltthatgooddesignwouldimprovepeople’slives.Ornamentwasdeemedunnecessary,andthesimplicityofdesign thatmanyofusnowtake forgrantedandvaluesohighlywasborne out of this need towipe the slate clean. Theywere to start again, creating theperfect chair and the perfect cup, standard types thatwould servemany uses. Of hisinduction into theBauhaus,where hewould formhis unique language of abstraction,Alberslatersaidthat“Iwas32...Ithrewalltheoldjunkoverboardandwentrightbacktothebeginningagain.ItwasthebestthingthatIeverdidinmylife”.TheBauhauswas an environment inwhich the line between decorative and fine artsand indeed industrial design was intentionally blurred. Albers created furniture andobjectsinlinewiththewiderethosdisplayedbycolleaguessuchasMarcelBreuerandMarianneBrandt.HemadefurnitureforGropius’soffice,producedademountablechairandmadeobjects inglass.HisTeaGlasses (1925)aremore in linewith thespiritandaestheticoftheBauhaus,theyareperhapshisfinestdesignworkbutsadlyneverwentinto production. The exhibition will show one of these rare pieces – of which only ahandfulsurvive.From1925Albersbegantomakepicturesinglassthatarethefirstfully

resolvedexamplesofhistrademarkgeometry. ‘TRELLIS’(1929)isonesuchwork.The‘Homage’ paintings, begun nearly three decades later, create a sense of overlappingcolourandanillusorydepthandtheluminosityofAlbers’sglass-works.MarcelBreuerjoinedtheBauhausinthesameyearasAlbers.Theexhibitionincludesarare example of his ‘Wassily Club Chair’ (1927) and his ‘Lattenstuhl’ (1923). Theseworkswould influence generations of designers to follow. MarianneBrandt’s objectscreated in theBauhaus’smetalworkshopshad a similarly significant influence. TheseBauhaus designs remain startlingly contemporary and the exhibition will serve as areminder that thesimplicityand importanceof the ideasbornoutof theBauhauscanstill,nearly100yearsafter its inception, teachusmuchabouthowtheartanddesignarounduscanimproveourlives.

AsecondpartoftheexhibitionwillexploretheworkJosefandAnniAlbersmadeaftertheBauhausclosed, and following theirmove to theUSA in1933.The twometat theBauhaus,marrying in1925.Against abackdropof anAnniAlbersdesignedwallpaperthathasonlyrecentlygoneintoproduction,wewillseeworksonpaperandpaintingsfrom the 1940’s to 70’s by both artists. Showing the work of Josef and Anni Alberstogether is a celebration of the synergies, shared interests, and influences of the twoartists.ThisdisplaywillalsodemonstratedevelopmentofJosef’sworkintheyearsthatprecede the ‘Homage to the Square’ paintings, which had such a huge influence onabstractpaintingandcolourtheory.

GalleryOne:AndreasEriksson‘Röta,bråka,skäktaochhäckla’,10February–12March2016Galleryhoursare:TuesdaytoFriday,10am-6pmandSaturday,11am-5pmFor further details please contact Mary Tagg: +44 (0)20 7494 1434 /mary@stephenfriedman.comExhibitionCatalogueandhighresimagesavailableonrequest.

Josef Albers in Breuer’s Wassily Club Chair, 1928

MarcelBreuer‘WASSILY’CLUBCHAIR,1927

JosefAlbers‘TRELLIS’,1929,Sandblastedopaqueflashedglasswithblackpaint