Adobe (Variant): Luminous Day 1952

Josef Albers made this oil on masonite, Adobe (Variant): Luminous Day, and it’s like he's handing us a recipe for seeing. He was a master of color, thinking about how it vibrates and shifts depending on what it's next to. Look at the texture here. The paint isn't trying to hide itself; it's a bit grainy, almost like stucco, a really even surface, though, as if he worked it into the board. The grey tones around the edge set off the dance between the salmon, orange, and blues at the center, making the blue appear to pop. Notice how each color seems to glow from within, and the orange seems to hum, creating a depth that's almost architectural. Albers's work feels like a bridge to artists like Agnes Martin, who also explored the quiet power of repetition and subtle variation, it also feels like a precedent for the work of someone like Brice Marden. There's something radical in the quietness of Albers's pursuit, in the way he invites us to slow down and really *see*.