Homage to the Square 1963

Josef Albers made this oil on masonite painting, Homage to the Square, playing with colour relationships using a very simple form. He was all about process and exploration and you can see how each layer interacts, it's not just a flat surface. Look closely, and you'll see how he's layered thin glazes of paint, almost like watercolour, to create these subtle shifts in tone. It's fascinating how the texture of the board peeks through, adding this quiet, almost imperceptible hum. Notice how the turquoise square seems to glow from within because of the greens surrounding it. It's like he's found a way to trap light and make it vibrate. Albers' work reminds me a bit of Agnes Martin, both artists obsessed with the grid, but in totally different ways. Albers wants to know how colors speak to each other and how we interpret those conversations. There's no fixed meaning here, just endless possibilities.