The Sum of the Parts: The Complete Portfolios of Josef Albers

12 Jun-29 Aug 2025

Overview

Cristea Roberts Gallery is delighted to open the first exhibition dedicated solely to the complete print portfolios by Josef Albers made during the latter decades of his life, including his final body of work.

Josef Albers (1888 - 1976), was one of the greatest abstract artists of the twentieth century, creating seminal works in painting, stained glass, and furniture design. He was also a dedicated printmaker and produced work in a variety of print techniques until his death in 1976. His complete graphic oeuvre comprises some 350 editions. In printmaking, Albers found the perfect vehicle with which to realize the full array of his imagery and to develop his theoretical approach to colour.

The Sum of the Parts: The Complete Portfolios of Josef Albers is the first exhibition dedicated solely to Albers’s complete print portfolios, all made during the latter decades of his life, using lithography, silkscreen, inkless intaglio, and embossing. Each one is a powerful demonstration of how markedly original Albers was in his understanding of colour and line. In creating these portfolios, he worked with some of the greatest print studios and master printers of the century. In each case, their collaborations pushed the boundaries not only of his own practice, but also of what could be achieved in printed form.

The individual plates that make up each portfolio in this volume challenge or echo one another, support or oppose one another, but when viewed together, the visual perception and interpretation achieved demonstrates that the whole is always much greater than the sum of its parts.

The exhibition is organised in collaboration with the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation. For a complete list of portfolios or to enquire about purchasing a suite please contact [email protected]