Variant/Adobe: Southern Climate 1948

Josef Albers made this oil on paper work; ‘Variant/Adobe: Southern Climate’. Albers was seriously into how colors play off each other, and this piece is like a masterclass in that. You know, painting for me is about the push and pull, the struggle on the canvas. This piece feels like Albers is searching for something, trying to find the perfect note by layering these rectangles of color. The surface has a real flatness to it, like the colors are breathing against each other. Look closely, you can see the way the paint is applied thinly. The texture makes the colors vibrate. Notice the vertical rectangle, sitting off-center; it's a simple move, but it throws the whole thing into this beautiful, uneasy balance. Albers' work reminds me a bit of Agnes Martin, both are minimalists but both show a dedication to the process. Art is such a conversation. It's about seeing, feeling, and letting the questions linger.