In Josef Albers' "Homage to the Square: Equivocal (Brown/Red)," created in 1959, the artist presents a masterful exploration of color interaction through his iconic nested square format. The composition features a series of concentric squares, each precisely calculated to demonstrate the complex relationships between colors. The work employs warm tones of brown and red that seem to shift and pulse depending on their adjacent hues.

The painting consists of four nested squares, with the outermost square serving as a frame in a lighter brown tone. Moving inward, each subsequent square appears to both recede and advance, creating a subtle optical illusion through Albers' careful manipulation of color temperature and value. The innermost square glows with a deep, rich red that seems to simultaneously draw the viewer in while projecting forward from the picture plane.

This piece exemplifies Albers' lifelong investigation into color theory and perception, demonstrating how colors can appear to change based on their context. The title "Equivocal" perfectly captures the painting's ambiguous spatial relationships, where the viewer's perception of depth and dimension remains in constant flux. Like many works in his "Homage to the Square" series, this painting serves as both an artistic statement and a scientific observation of color behavior.

Painter and poet, sculptor, and teacher Josef Albers was one of the most influential figures in 20th-century abstract art, and his theoretical work is still a cornerstone of Western approaches to art education. Albers both studied and taught at the Bauhaus before emigrating to the US in 1933, where he headed art departments first at Black Mountain College in North Carolina, then at Yale, and taught the likes of Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, Eva Hesse, and Ray Johnson. Albers’ Homage to the Square series of paintings, begun in 1950, remains his most influential work. 

Made by Christopher Farr of London.

Dimensions:  W 69"  D 69"

Materials: Millspun wool.  Hand tufted.  Produced in association with the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation.