In 1950, Josef Albers began to paint his square canvases with tapering squares in different colors. As simple as the principle is, as many variations it offers. He will work for 25 years on the series of paintings that he calls Homage to the Square. With it, he succeeds in eliminating the contrast between static and movement: Through the optical effect of color, the same motif always appears differently and sometimes sets itself in motion before our eyes.

With Homage, Rozendaal updates Albers' position to the present. He sets nested squares in motion and makes them accessible to an extended public in spaces and on the Internet. The 110 color variations of the series are based on digital instructions stored on the blockchain. The smart contracts are considered the actual works and are presented on a large LED wall in the Museum Folkwang. The digital wall showcasing the NFT faces the green space of Kahrstrasse and enters into a dialogue with other physical works by Donald Judd, Frank Stella and Richard Serra from the Museum Folkwang's collection. 

In addition, as a satellite of the Rafaël Rozendaal exhibition, two Homage works are shown at the Josef Albers Museum in Bottrop and make direct reference to the namesake and the collection there.


Homage #1–#110, 2022
NFTs (on-chain .svg collection)
Code by Reiner Feijen & Alberto Granzotto

Homage #43, 2022
Homage #49, 2022
NFTs (on-chain .svg)
Code by Reinier Feijen & Alberto Granzotto