Beginning in the 1930s, Josef Albers became one of the first artists to explore the psychological effects of color and space, a pursuit later adopted by Op art. He was especially interested in the ways in which the human eye processes the interaction among these compositional elements. Elegant geometric and spatial manipulations like Structural Constellation F. M. E. 3 toy with the viewer’s sense of space. Here, planes and angles appear to advance and recede into space simultaneously. Lines seem to cantilever outside of the picture plane or bend where they intersect. Throughout his lifetime, Albers created hundreds of works exploring variations of this motif, including drawings and embossed prints.

Label from Giant Steps: Artists and the 1960s, June 30–December 30, 2018