A Life Forged in Material: The Early Years and Bauhaus Formation Josef Albers’s artistic journey began not amidst the rarefied air of established academies, but within the pragmatic world of his father’s contracting business in Bottrop, Germany. Born in 1888, young Josef absorbed a deep respect for materials – carpentry, plumbing, house-painting – skills that would fundamentally shape his aesthetic sensibility. This wasn't merely vocational training; it was an immersion into the very essence of making, understanding how forms materialized and the inherent qualities within each medium. He spe…