Paul Klee, Garten stillleben (Garden still life), 1924; Josef Albers, Gitterbild (Grid Mounted), c. 1921-1922; Anni Albers, Red Meander, 1954, Courtey of David Zwirner Gallery
David Zwirner Gallery will unveil a major exhibition, "Affinities: Anni Albers, Josef Albers, Paul Klee," from March 13 to April 19, 2025, at its Chelsea location (537 West 20th Street, New York). Curated by Nicholas Fox Weber, the exhibition explores the artistic connections and mutual influences among these three pioneers of modernism, who were closely associated with the Bauhaus movement during the 1920s and early 1930s.
This landmark presentation will feature a comprehensive selection of works by Anni Albers and Josef Albers, drawn from The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, alongside notable pieces by Paul Klee, on loan from institutional and private collections, including works from the collection of Alain and Doris Klee. Additional support for the exhibition has been provided by the Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, underscoring its significance in the broader study of modernist abstraction.
Paul Klee joined the Bauhaus faculty in 1921 as a "form master", a senior instructor at the school, bringing his groundbreaking theories on color, line, and form to a new generation of artists. Josef Albers arrived one year earlier as a student and later became head of the glass workshop before overseeing the school’s preliminary design course. Though the two artists never studied together formally, Anni Albers, who enrolled in 1922, attended Klee’s lectures and weaving course, an experience she later credited as a pivotal influence on her artistic philosophy.
The exhibition will highlight early Bauhaus-era works, including Klee’s paintings and drawings, which showcase his distinct use of geometric compositions and vivid color palettes. Among the rare pieces on view will be Josef Albers’ early glassworks, featuring grid-based and stained-glass compositions that prefigure his later explorations in color theory. Also on display is Anni Albers’ "Wallhanging" (1924), one of her few surviving textile works from the 1920s, demonstrating her innovative approach to minimalist form and woven abstraction.
In addition to these formative pieces, the exhibition will explore the artists’ later years, tracing their evolutions while emphasizing the enduring aesthetic affinities between their works. Klee’s later paintings reflect a shift toward looser forms and more spontaneous arrangements, embodying a highly personal visual diary in his final years. Anni Albers’ later works—textiles, prints, and drawings—reveal her continued experimentation with geometric structures and color relationships, while Josef Albers’ celebrated "Homage to the Square" series illustrates his lifelong investigation into the interaction of color and spatial depth.
While Klee and the Alberses have been exhibited together in broader surveys of Bauhaus and modernist movements, this exhibition marks the first major show dedicated specifically to the dynamic among these three artists. As Nicholas Fox Weber notes, "Neither Paul Klee nor Anni nor Josef imitated one another, but they shared certain goals. Their art was a celebration—of color, of form, of the value of art that was not a personal revelation but was, rather, an ode to the universal." The exhibition seeks to illuminate the experimental spirit, humor, and intellectual rigor that defined their work.
This presentation also precedes a major retrospective of Anni Albers’ work at the Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern, scheduled for November 2025 to February 2026. Additionally, works by Albers will be featured in "Woven Histories: Textiles and Modern Abstraction," opening at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, in April 2025.
With its focused exploration of three of the 20th century’s most influential artists, "Affinities" offers a rare and intimate look at the intersections of Bauhaus pedagogy, modernist abstraction, and artistic exchange, reaffirming their lasting impact on contemporary art and design.
Sayart / Maria Kim, sayart2022@gmail.com
Paul Klee, Garten stillleben (Garden still life), 1924; Josef Albers, Gitterbild (Grid Mounted), c. 1921-1922; Anni Albers, Red Meander, 1954, Courtey of David Zwirner Gallery
David Zwirner Gallery will unveil a major exhibition, "Affinities: Anni Albers, Josef Albers, Paul Klee," from March 13 to April 19, 2025, at its Chelsea location (537 West 20th Street, New York). Curated by Nicholas Fox Weber, the exhibition explores the artistic connections and mutual influences among these three pioneers of modernism, who were closely associated with the Bauhaus movement during the 1920s and early 1930s.
This landmark presentation will feature a comprehensive selection of works by Anni Albers and Josef Albers, drawn from The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, alongside notable pieces by Paul Klee, on loan from institutional and private collections, including works from the collection of Alain and Doris Klee. Additional support for the exhibition has been provided by the Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, underscoring its significance in the broader study of modernist abstraction.
Paul Klee joined the Bauhaus faculty in 1921 as a "form master", a senior instructor at the school, bringing his groundbreaking theories on color, line, and form to a new generation of artists. Josef Albers arrived one year earlier as a student and later became head of the glass workshop before overseeing the school’s preliminary design course. Though the two artists never studied together formally, Anni Albers, who enrolled in 1922, attended Klee’s lectures and weaving course, an experience she later credited as a pivotal influence on her artistic philosophy.
The exhibition will highlight early Bauhaus-era works, including Klee’s paintings and drawings, which showcase his distinct use of geometric compositions and vivid color palettes. Among the rare pieces on view will be Josef Albers’ early glassworks, featuring grid-based and stained-glass compositions that prefigure his later explorations in color theory. Also on display is Anni Albers’ "Wallhanging" (1924), one of her few surviving textile works from the 1920s, demonstrating her innovative approach to minimalist form and woven abstraction.
In addition to these formative pieces, the exhibition will explore the artists’ later years, tracing their evolutions while emphasizing the enduring aesthetic affinities between their works. Klee’s later paintings reflect a shift toward looser forms and more spontaneous arrangements, embodying a highly personal visual diary in his final years. Anni Albers’ later works—textiles, prints, and drawings—reveal her continued experimentation with geometric structures and color relationships, while Josef Albers’ celebrated "Homage to the Square" series illustrates his lifelong investigation into the interaction of color and spatial depth.
While Klee and the Alberses have been exhibited together in broader surveys of Bauhaus and modernist movements, this exhibition marks the first major show dedicated specifically to the dynamic among these three artists. As Nicholas Fox Weber notes, "Neither Paul Klee nor Anni nor Josef imitated one another, but they shared certain goals. Their art was a celebration—of color, of form, of the value of art that was not a personal revelation but was, rather, an ode to the universal." The exhibition seeks to illuminate the experimental spirit, humor, and intellectual rigor that defined their work.
This presentation also precedes a major retrospective of Anni Albers’ work at the Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern, scheduled for November 2025 to February 2026. Additionally, works by Albers will be featured in "Woven Histories: Textiles and Modern Abstraction," opening at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, in April 2025.
With its focused exploration of three of the 20th century’s most influential artists, "Affinities" offers a rare and intimate look at the intersections of Bauhaus pedagogy, modernist abstraction, and artistic exchange, reaffirming their lasting impact on contemporary art and design.
