Spotlight Series: Josef Albers and Mexico

In 1935, artist and designer Josef Albers (1888-1976) made his first trip to Mexico in a Model A. The weaver Anni Albers, his wife, accompanied him, as did friends Bobbie & Ted Dreier. The trip, the first of over a dozen they would make, sparked Josef & Anni’s lifelong fascination with Central American art and design.

Josef’s travels to Mexico profoundly influenced his artistic practice. A pioneer of geometric abstraction, he took extensive photographs of Mesoamerican architecture and avidly collected pre-Columbian artifacts and Mexican folk art. The contours and forms he found there would inform his paintings, prints, furniture, and other designs.

The objects on view in this installation reflect Josef’s ongoing involvement with Mexican art and design.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website