Black and white in Josef Albers's work

London - Waddington Custot Galleries present 'Josef Albers: Black and White' in association with the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation.

This is the first exhibition to be held in the UK which explores the importance of black and white in Josef Albers's work. Almost 50 selected works testify to Albers's versatility as an artist. Featuring paintings, works on paper, glass works, photographs and engravings on vinylite, this exhibition promises a fascinating insight into his inventive journey.

Albers explored the power of black throughout his life. Albers's appreciation of complex tonal contrasts as a draughtsman, printmaker and photographer would go on to influence his own pupils including Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly and Kenneth Noland.

Photographs of Tenayuca and Uxmal will be on view.

These complex linear designs offer various possible spatial interpretations and thereby create optical illusions. Best known for his iconic series of Homage to the Square paintings, focusing on chromatic interactions, Albers created these oils, usually on masonite, for a period of over 25 years.

Each consists of three or four squares of solid planes of colour. He often used strong, vibrant colours, but in this exhibition are eight examples in black and in white.

Alongside these will be his Variant or Adobe paintings, their composition based on the houses in Mexico and the American southwest. Josef Albers was a pioneering colour theorist and a historic teacher at the Bauhaus, Germany, Black Mountain College, North Carolina, and Yale University, Connecticut. His impact on contemporary art and design was and is lasting and profound.