Introitus 1942

Josef Albers made this rectangular formation, Introitus, most likely in his studio. It is a kind of visual poem based on the repetition of geometric forms. Looking at this piece, I can imagine Albers, with his T-square and rapidograph, trying to achieve perfection, each line precise and uniform. But there’s something else going on here too; an illusion of depth, a sense of receding space. The more I look at it, the more it feels like a portal, an entry—introitus, right?—into another dimension. I think of the Italian Renaissance painter, Piero della Francesca, and his obsessive use of perspective. It’s like Albers is having a dialogue with him, but in a totally different language. And of course, there are his famous "Homage to the Square" paintings. It’s almost as if Albers is saying: "Let’s take these simple shapes and see how far we can push them.” Artists are always responding to one another, arguing, agreeing, and riffing off ideas across time. It’s one big, ongoing conversation. Each mark, each decision, is part of that exchange.