REVIEW:Anni & Joseph Albers-L’art et la vie

Left: Anni Albers, Red and Blue LayersRed and Blue Layers, 1954. The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation © 2021 The Josef and Anni AlbersFoundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris 2021. Right: Josef Albers, Homage to the Square: On Near Sky, 1963, huile sur Masonite, 121,9 x 121,9 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / image of the MMA© 2021 The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris 2021With more than 350 works (paintings, photographs, furniture, drawings, textiles), “L’art et la vie” at Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris is probably the most impressive retrospective I’ve ever seen  devoted to a couple of artists who as we all know played an important role in the Bauhaus, Anni & Joseph Albers. It is impassive not only for the wealth of the artworks, but mainly for the fact that the exhibited works by both artists are equal, also it is one of the few times that the title of an exhibition mentions first the name of the Anni and then the name of Joseph Albers. It is really a very interesting exhibition because in addition to the works the viewer encounters in the space, there are many drafts, notes, samples of fabrics, objects and more… It feels like the artists had opened their studios and the in front of us is deposited moment by moment, a wonderful world that the viewer is rarely allowed to cross… the interiors of a workshop which involve a lot of work, with the work of Anni Albers -in my opinion- much stronger and more substantial already from her first works,  in contrast to Joseph Albers, whose work is shaped and matured from 1945 onwards. This is, after all, the great interest of the exhibition, apart from its historical value and it is really worth for those who are in Paris to visit it since it will end soon.-Efi Michalarou

Photo Left: Anni Albers, Red and Blue LayersRed and Blue Layers, 1954. The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation © 2021 The Josef and Anni AlbersFoundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris 2021. Right: Josef Albers, Homage to the Square: On Near Sky, 1963, huile sur Masonite, 121,9 x 121,9 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / image of the MMA© 2021 The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris 2021

Info: Curator: Julia Garimorth, Assistant Curator: Sylvie Moreau-Soteras, Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, 11 Avenue du Président Wilson, Paris, France, Duration: 10/9/2021-9/1/2022, Days & Hours: Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, www.mam.paris.fr