Folder 21
1972
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
screenprint in black on Mohawk Superfine Bristol wove paper
Dimensions
sheet: 38.1 × 101.6 cm (15 × 40 in.) sheet (folded): 38.1 × 50.8 cm (15 × 20 in.)
Classification
Portfolio
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection (Gift of Mr. Norman Ives)
Accession Number
2015.19.2850.21
Art Historical Context
Josef Albers' *Folder 21* (1972) is a striking screenprint in black ink on Mohawk Superfine wove paper, part of his late-career *Formulation: Articulation portfolio. Measuring 38.1 × 101.6 cm when unfolded (or 38.1 × 50.8 cm folded), this work exemplifies Albers' lifelong fascination with geometric abstraction and visual perception. A Bauhaus veteran who taught at Black Mountain College and Yale, Albers stripped away color here to focus purely on form, space, and optical interplay—hallmarks of his influential style that bridged Constructivism and Op Art. The screenprint medium allowed precise...
About the Artist
Josef Albers
Josef Albers, born on March 19, 1888, in Bottrop, Westphalia, into a Roman Catholic family of craftsmen, received early practical training from his father, Lorenzo Albers, a housepainter and carpenter, mastering skills in engraving glass, plumbing, wiring, and printmaking. After working as a schoolteacher in Bottrop from 1908 to 1913, he trained as an art teacher at the Königliche Kunstschule in B...