The Sacred Modernist: Josef Albers as a Catholic Artist

Curated by Nicholas Fox Weber

until 8 July 2012

Curated by Nicholas Fox Weber, Director of the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, this exhibition presents the work of the great Bauhaus-trained modernist in a new way. Josef Albers was born and raised a Catholic and at the end of his life, he regularly attended Sunday mass and went to confession. This exhibition explores the influence of this religious upbringing as well as his admiration for the masters of early Christian art and architecture.

The Sacred Modernist: Josef Albers as a Catholic Artist brings together works from all phases of Albers's life. It presents his earliest sketches of cathedrals in Germany, includes pieces from his time at the Bauhaus and North Carolina's Black Mountain College, and culminates in his final 1976 Homage to the Square.

The detail above is taken from the reconstruction of the stained glass window Rosa Mystica which was designed by Josef Albers for St. Michael's Church in Bottrop, Germany and which was destroyed during WWII. Through the determined fieldwork and archival resources of The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, the Lewis Glucksman Gallery is honoured to present a full scale reconstruction of Albers's design for the Rosa Mystica. This is the first time the recommissioned window will be seen in public.

A full colour catalogue documents all the works selected for exhibition and features insights into Josef Albers's work by Julie Agoos, Oliver Barker, Leland de la Durantaye, Mark Patrick Hederman, Fiona Kearney and Colm Tóibín.

The catalogue and exhibition are generously supported by The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation.