Grid Mounted - Josef Albers

A geometric construction by Josef Albers, featuring salvaged glass fragments arranged within a wire grid, created during his Bauhaus period.

Grid Mounted is a construction from the early period of Josef Albers, dating to his time at the Bauhaus in Weimar. The work consists of a collection of glass fragments, salvaged from various sources, arranged within a rigid wire grid. This assembly reflects the Bauhaus interest in the transformation of discarded industrial materials into structured aesthetic objects.

The composition is defined by a strict orthogonal framework. Within each cell of the wire mesh, Albers placed a distinct piece of glass. These fragments vary in colour, opacity, and texture, ranging from clear and translucent panes to opaque, metallic, and reflective surfaces. The arrangement does not follow a discernible pattern, yet the overall effect is one of controlled order. By housing these disparate elements within a uniform grid, Albers forces a comparison between the individual qualities of each glass shard and the collective structure of the whole.

This piece demonstrates the artist's early preoccupation with the interaction of colour and material. While later works by Albers often focused on the optical effects of paint on canvas, Grid Mounted reveals his initial engagement with physical objects and light. The glass acts as a filter, catching and refracting light in ways that change depending on the viewer's position. The dark, heavy wire frame provides a stark contrast to the varied tones of the glass, grounding the composition and emphasising the modular nature of the design. It is a study in material economy and the potential for beauty within industrial detritus, characteristic of the experimental atmosphere of the Bauhaus workshops during the early 1920s.