Impossibles 1931

Josef Albers made this print called Impossibles, using line and tone to create a sense of depth and illusion. The neat lines make the solid forms feel architectural, but that’s where the sense stops making sense, because each form is only possible on the flat surface of the paper. There’s a real tension between the way Albers describes three-dimensional space through line and shading and the fact that the image is flat. I love the way he creates a sense of wonder and confusion in the viewer. Think of Escher, another graphic artist, or maybe even some of those Op Art paintings from the sixties, but with Albers, there’s a more minimal approach, a quietness. He reminds us that art is not about fixed meanings, but about embracing ambiguity and the joy of seeing.