Josef Albers was the longest-serving member of the Bauhaus, a progressive German school active from 1919 to 1933 that sought to combine art, design, and architecture. Albers’ early career at the Bauhaus was shaped by his intense exploration of the material and aesthetic qualities of glass. Between 1925 and 1932, he embarked upon an innovative series of sandblasted flashed glass panels, of which this is an example, that imitate the format of easel paintings.

Flashed glass is produced by covering a solid white glass sheet with a second layer of very thin colored glass that is subsequently sandblasted through a paper stencil, revealing the original color below. In Walls and Screens, Albers also applied black elements in glass paint that became permanent upon firing in a kiln. Although working in sandblasted flashed glass limited his exploration of color and line, Albers was riveted by the striking intensity of its pure opaque colors, as well as its precision and flatness.

Excerpt from

DMA label copy.

• The Modern, Fort Worth
  View several of Josef Albers's paintings from his series Homage to the Square.

• The Josef & Anni Albers Foundation
  Learn more about artists Josef and Anni Albers.