February 19 through May 22, 2022
Explore the endless possibilities of how color, pattern, and shape interact in these masterful prints.
Interaction of Color borrows its title from a 1963 handbook on complex color theory developed by Josef Albers (1888–1976), one of the most influential artist-educators of the 20th century. Growing up in Germany, Albers spent his formative artistic years studying under the school of Bauhaus. At the Bauhaus, he learned how to create art and look at art critically. This critical eye is what eventually inspired him to rethink accepted theories on color and to dive even deeper into its uses in art. For Albers, color had observable behaviors. It was magic.
As an educator at Black Mountain College (from 1933 to 1949), Albers created the world’s first full-blown college course in color. In Interaction of Color, Albers effectively argues that color itself is more than an element of art—color is a medium that the artist wields. Albers approached a range of color theories with visual exercises for his students, such as the use of a color wheel to mix, layer, and pattern colors in interesting ways. His teachings of color and his careful observations paved the way for Minimalism, Abstract Expressionism, Color Field, and Optical Art.
In this exhibition, prints from the PMA collection champion Albers’ passion and explore the infinite possibilities of color as a concept. Also featured are works by Helen Frankenthaler, Adolph Gottlieb, Ellsworth Kelly, and more.
The exhibition was developed with Stella Gonzalez, the PMA’s 2020 Winslow Homer Fellow.
About the Curator
JAIME DeSIMONE is the Robert and Elizabeth Nanovic Curator of Contemporary Art at the PMA. Jaime joined the PMA in 2018 from the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Jacksonville, where she helped grow the permanent collection and curated exhibitions such as A Dark Place of Dreams: Louise Nevelson with Chakaia Booker, Lauren Fensterstock, and Kate Gilmore. At the PMA, she oversaw Relational Undercurrents: Contemporary Art of the Caribbean Archipelago, Ragnar Kjartansson: Scenes from Western Culture, and Carrie Moyer and Sheila Pepe: Tabernacles for Trying Times.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT GRAEME KENNEDY, DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS, VIA EMAIL OR 207-699-4887
Banner image: Helen Frankenthaler (United States, 1928 – 2011), East and Beyond, Trial Proof 10 (Detail), 1973, 31 1/4 x 20 7/8 inches. Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Gift of Roberta Belkin in memory of Herb Belkin, 2004.2. © 2021 Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Universal Limited Art Editions, West Islip, NY