Josef Albers in Mexico

Curated by Lauren Hinkson

“Mexico is truly the promised land of abstract art.”

- Josef Albers

The museum presents Josef Albers in Mexico, an exhibition illuminating the relationship between the forms and design of pre-Columbian monuments and the art of Josef Albers (1888 - 1976). The presentation features a selection of rarely shown early paintings, iconic canvases from Albers’s Homage to the Square and Variant/Adobe series, and works on paper. The exhibition also includes a rich selection of photographs and photocollages, many of which have never before been on view and were created by Albers in response to frequent visits to Mexican archaeological sites beginning in the 1930s. With letters, studies, and unseen personal photographs alongside works drawn from the collections of Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, and the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, Josef Albers in Mexico presents an opportunity to learn about the least known aspect of his practice, photography, offering new perspective on his most celebrated abstract works. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection will be the second venue of the exhibition, after the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (November 3, 2017–April 4, 2018).

Catalogue

A fully illustrated catalogue, with scholarly essays by Hinkson and Joaquin Barríendos, an independent scholar and curator of Latin American art, accompanies Josef Albers in Mexico. The volume also includes writing by Josef Albers and an illustrated map documenting the Alberses’ journeys. The catalogue for this exhibition is supported in part by Furthermore: a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund.
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Sponsor

Major support for Josef Albers in Mexico is provided by LLWW Foundation. Funding is also provided by the Robert Lehman Foundation, the Mex-Am Cultural Foundation, Inc., and The Mexican Cultural Institute of New York with the Consulate General of Mexico and AMEXCID. The Leadership Committee for this exhibition is gratefully acknowledged for its generosity, with special thanks to Alice and Thomas Tisch; David Zwirner, New York/London; Lisa and John Miller; and Louisa Stude Sarofim.

The exhibitions of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection are supported by the Institutional Patrons, EFG and Lavazza, by the Guggenheim Intrapresæ and by the Advisory Board of the museum. The educational programs related to the exhibition are funded by the Fondazione Araldi Guinetti, Vaduz.