Homage to the Square by Mutina — seven colours that multiply

Seven colours sounds like a small palette — until Albers explains the mathematics: «in art, one plus one plus one equals three or more». Because colour is relational — it shifts with its neighbours, the light, the room — Sea, Evergreen, Chocolate, Ice, Citron, Sage and Peach multiply into far more than seven: every pairing is a new colour, every room a new result. That is the engine of Homage to the Square, the painting series Josef Albers pursued for twenty-six years, now translated by Mutina with The Josef & Anni Albers Foundation into glazed porcelain — the newest collection in the catalogue (2026, registered design).

The module is 15×15, unrectified — firing variations declared, each piece unique — in two patterns of matte and glossy glazes: Dash, a glossy section in a matte frame with four glossy squares (the nested squares of the paintings), and Dot, matte with glossy corners. The tones derive from Albers's canvases, calibrated to one saturation so they harmonize by construction — a palette that arrives pre-tuned, like a raga.

Where the palette works

The palette follows two simple rules: Dot for interior floors and walls (stain class 5, R10, DIN B, DCOF 0.57 declared) and exterior walls; Dash for walls only — bathrooms, showers, lobbies, boardrooms. Datasheet and certificates on this page.