ICA-Belgium

09/06/2026

This essay by Maria Zurbuchen-Henz explores the relationship between visual art and architecture through the work of Josef Albers.

Starting from the spatial illusion of Homage to the Square, the text asks how colour can shape our perception of depth, volume and atmosphere - and whether concepts developed in painting can be transferred into architectural space.

Maria Zurbuchen-Henz will also be among the workshop leaders of Interaction of Colour in Space, bringing these questions into a practical exploration of colour, light and space.
—
Part of a collection of essays developed alongside the workshop Interaction of Colour in Space.

Read the full essay at https://www.ica-belgium.org/p/hommage-to-josef-albers-05

Image: Between testing-machine and wonder-box: Experimenting colour-concepts by means of models
Source: Maria Zurbuchen-Henz

Join us for the workshop Interaction of Colour in Space.
June 27–28, 2026, at Josef Albers Museum Quadrat in Bottrop, Germany.
https://www.ica-belgium.org/p/interaction-of-colour-in-space

30/05/2026

The eye and brain must learn to observe carefully to assess the complexity of colour experience.

This emphasis on observation and experience remains essential for designers.

Colours shift when light, neighbouring hues, surfaces or scale change.

Colour decisions therefore require time - an iterative process of observing, experimenting and re-evaluating.

Join us for Interaction of Colour in Space.
June 27–28, 2026, at Josef Albers Museum Quadrat in Bottrop, Germany.

2 subsidised places are available for early career practitioners (architects, designers or artists who completed their degree no more than five years ago, graduating year 2020 or later); apply by June 1.

More information about the workshop: https://www.ica-belgium.org/p/interaction-of-colour-in-space
About the Albers Accessibility Awards: https://www.ica-belgium.org/p/open-call

With Juan Serra Lluch & Maria Zurbuchen-Henz
Supported by The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation & Josef Albers Museum Quadrat Bottrop
Organised by ICA-Belgium Maja Kaurin Inez Michiels Jeannette Hanenburg and Deutsches Farbenzentrum Julia Hausmann Timo Rieke Lina Schmidt

12/05/2026

Early in your career as an architect, designer, or artist? This one is for you.

ICA-Belgium and Deutsches Farbenzentrum are offering 2 subsidised places for our workshop Interaction of Colour in Space at the Josef Albers Museum Quadrat, Bottrop (Germany), made possible by the generous support of the Josef & Anni Albers Foundation.

🗓️ June 27–28, 2026

💶 €40 instead of €350 (travel & accommodation not included)

📩 Apply by June 1, 2026

Open to practitioners in architecture, art and design, within 5 years of graduation.

Send a short essay (250 words max) + your professional profile link to [email protected]

Describe a question about colour in space that is currently relevant to your professional practice, and explain how participating in this workshop would help you explore or advance it.

Full details: https://www.ica-belgium.org/p/open-call

Expand your practice in the very halls where Albers' legacy lives.

Albers Accessibility Awards for Young Professionals active in architecture, design and art

13/04/2026

We welcome you to the 2nd April edition of ICA-Belgium Colour News, bringing you colour-related news from Belgium and around the world.

In it, we welcome our new team member Elisabetta Borriello, share news from our member Nanna Van Heest and an interesting colour-related exhibition "Joan Semmel: Continuities," opening soon in Brussels (Rivoli) at Xavier Hufkens and in New York at Alexander Gray Associates.

We invite you to read another article from the Collection of Essays dedicated to Josef Albers, this time by Julia Hausmann.

Students of architecture, art and design, don't forget to apply for our Open Call, deadline is the 1st of May!

Subscribe and read a full Newsletter at https://www.ica-belgium.org/p/colour-news-april-2026-no-2

See you there!

-your ICA-Belgium team

Colour related news and events - Workshop Colour in Space, Essay about Josef Albers, Colour related exhibitions, Open Call for Students

13/04/2026

OPEN CALL: The Albers Accessibility Awards

Are you a student or PhD researcher passionate about the power of colour in space?

ICA-Belgium and Deutsches Farbenzentrum are offering 4 subsidised placements for our upcoming intensive workshop "Interaction of Colour in Space" at the Josef Albers Museum Quadrat in Bottrop, Germany!

This is a unique opportunity to learn from world-class experts in the very halls where Albers’ legacy lives.

📍 Where: Josef Albers Museum Quadrat, Bottrop, Germany
🗓️ When: June 27–28, 2026

Thanks to the generous support of The Josef & Anni Albers Foundation, selected students will pay a reduced fee of just €40 (Standard fee: €350).

🎓 Who: Full-time higher education students (all levels)

How to apply:

1️⃣ Write a short motivation statement (max. 250 words) on how this workshop impacts your research or future career.

2️⃣ Email your statement + proof of enrollment to [email protected].

⏳ Deadline: May 1st, 2026
📢 Results: May 15th, 2026

To find more, check https://www.ica-belgium.org/p/the-albers-accessibility-awards

We look forward to reading your applications and welcoming a dynamic group of students to Bottrop this June!

Open Call for Students

30/03/2026

The registration for the workshop Interaction of Colour in Space is now open!

We invite you to a special 2-day workshop, organised in collaboration with Deutsches Farbenzentrum and with the support of the Josef Albers Museum Quadrat Bottrop and The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation.

Led by two internationally acclaimed experts, the workshop brings together outstanding voices in architectural colour research and practice: Maria Zurbuchen-Henz and Juan Serra Lluch.

Through hands-on exercises, critical discussion, and applied research, both lecturers offer their distinct interpretations - translating colour theory into spatial experience, material expression, and design strategy.

This is a rare opportunity to engage deeply with colour, exchange ideas with leading experts, and gain new perspectives at a unique setting of the Josef Albers Museum Quadrat, where art, theory, and architecture meet.

📍 Where: Josef Albers Museum Quadrat, Bottrop, Germany

🗓️ When: June 27–28, 2026

🎓 Who: Architects, designers, artists and all colour lovers

Places are limited to 25.

Expand your practice in the very halls where Albers’s legacy lives.

Full details and program: https://www.ica-belgium.org/p/interaction-of-colour-in-space

22/01/2026

On Sunday, 8 February 2026, at 10 AM CET, join us for a talk by Juan Serra Lluch, PhD architect, Full Professor at the School of Architecture (ETSA) of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), and Sub-Dean of Research, who will present his book, Colour for Architects.

Colour is essential to architecture yet often misunderstood and overlooked in education; this engaging, richly illustrated volume brings clarity to colour theory by seamlessly blending theory, practice, and real-world examples, offering designers practical tools to confidently use colour in architectural design.

There will be time for Q&A. Jeannette Hanenburg, Inez Michiels, and Maja Kaurin invite you to join the conversation.

The event is free, but it requires registration, the places are limited.

More information and free registration at https://www.ica-belgium.org/p/color-for-architects-a-comprehensive

21/01/2026

We invite you to read a Color-Centric Exploration of Two Paris Exhibitions by Vinciane Lacroix for ICA-Belgium.

Two remarkable yet strikingly different artists take center stage in this new color-focused article: John Singer Sargent at the Musée d’Orsay (“Éblouir Paris,” closed January 11, 2026) and Wassily Kandinsky at the Philharmonie de Paris (“The Music of Colors,” until February 1, 2026).

Sargent, a child prodigy and master of light and society portraiture, dazzles with luminous contrasts - opalescent skin against deep blacks, vibrant oranges for rhythm, hypnotic reds - drawing from Velázquez and his Parisian years. Discover his virtuosic use of color as a tool for depth, movement, and emotional resonance.

Kandinsky, arriving late to painting, evolved through distinct stylistic phases, each revealing unique color approaches. As an outstanding theorist and innovator, he theorized artistic experience as a conduit for the soul’s deepest aspirations, culminating in total art where color, music, and spirit merge in synesthetic harmony.

Through the prism of color, this personal analysis celebrates their chromatic innovations: Sargent’s synthetic mastery of light and Kandinsky’s spiritual, musical color language.

Head to ica-belgium.org to read the article.

📷 John Singer Sargent, In the Luxembourg Gardens, 1879
Oil on canvas, 66 x 92 cm (image source: Wikimedia Commons)

Musée d'Orsay Philharmonie de Paris

21/01/2026

Welcome to the January edition of ICA-Belgium Colour News, where we bring you colour-related news from Belgium and around the world.

We wish you a colourful, warm, and inspiring 2026, a year in which we continue to see, support, and appreciate one another.

Read and subscribe at https://ica-belgium.org.

Join a community of colour lovers, and get to know other colour enthusiasts and professionals from all around the world (yes, we have international membership!), share about your work, develop opportunities for collaboration, build connections and contribute to a dynamic colour platform.

See you there!

-your ICA-Belgium team

-related

21/09/2025

We invite you to our next online Sunday Morning Colour Talk!

On 28 September 2025, at 10:00 CEST, our guest will be Harald Arnkil, a Finnish artist, writer, colour researcher, founder and former president of Suomen väriyhdistys, the Finnish Colour Association. He will talk about how contemporary artists use colours, and how they regard colour theories.

There will be time for Q&A.
Jeannette Hanenburg, Inez Michiels and Maja Kaurin invite you to join the conversation.

The event is free, but it requires registration, the places are limited.

More information and free registration at https://www.ica-belgium.org/p/colours-of-contemporary-art-theory