Variant/Adobe: Settled - Josef Albers
Archival giclée
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Description
A classic example of Josef Albers's Variant/Adobe series, exploring the interaction of colour and spatial depth through geometric forms.
Josef Albers began his Variant/Adobe series in 1947, following his initial travels to Mexico. These works reflect his observations of pre-Columbian architecture, specifically the adobe structures he encountered. The series is defined by a rigorous exploration of colour interaction and spatial perception. Albers uses a consistent structural format, consisting of rectangular bands that suggest an architectural facade or an interior space.
In this composition, the viewer encounters a series of nested rectangles. The outer bands of red and ochre frame a central area of grey and white. Albers manipulates these tones to create an illusion of depth, where the central white space appears to recede or advance depending on the surrounding colours. The application of paint is precise, avoiding visible brushwork to maintain the flatness of the picture plane. This approach forces the eye to focus entirely on the relationship between the hues rather than the artist's hand.
Albers, a former teacher at the Bauhaus and later at Black Mountain College, maintained a lifelong interest in the science of optics. He believed that colour is the most relative medium in art, as its appearance changes based on its proximity to other colours. By limiting his palette and using simple geometric forms, he isolates these phenomena for the viewer to observe. The Variant/Adobe series serves as a primary example of his methodology, where the repetition of a single format allows for infinite variations in mood and spatial effect. This print captures the matte texture and precise colour boundaries of the original oil on masonite work, offering a clear representation of Albers's systematic approach to visual perception.
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Because every print is made to order, we don't offer change-of-mind returns, refunds or exchanges. If your order arrives faulty, damaged or incorrect, we'll replace it free of charge — just contact us within 48 hours of delivery. See our refunds page for full details.
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We ship worldwide, printing at the production hub nearest to your delivery address. Delivery times and costs vary by destination — you'll see the options available to you at checkout.
Manufacturing
Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
Care and materials
Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
Care & Cleaning
To keep your artwork looking its best:
- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
- Handle prints with clean, dry hands
Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
Variant/Adobe: Settled - Josef Albers
Artist Biography
Josef Albers
He was born in 1888 in Bottrop, Westphalia, into a Roman Catholic craftsman's family. He worked as a schoolteacher for five years before deciding to study art, joining the Bauhaus as a student in 1920 and becoming a faculty member by 1922. He married Anni Fleischmann, a Bauhaus textile student, in 1925.
At Black Mountain, his students included Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, Ruth Asawa, and Ray Johnson. He left in 1950 to head the Department of Design at Yale, where he taught until retirement in 1958. The teaching produced Interaction of Color (1963), a text arguing that colour can only be understood in context, never in isolation. It remains a standard reference.
The Homage to the Square series occupied the rest of his life: nested squares of colour, painted obsessively, with every pigment and proportion meticulously recorded. The paintings look simple. The colour relationships within them are not. He died in 1976.
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