Henri Ernst Pfeiffer (1907–1994) was a German-born artist and colour theorist whose career uniquely bridged art and science. Descended from a family of painters, he studied anatomical drawing at the University of Bonn before joining the Bauhaus at seventeen, where he became a student of Paul Klee and developed an innovative approach to abstraction and colour. Having studied the chemistry and perception of pigments from an early age, Pfeiffer continued his research into colour after the Bauhaus was closed by the Nazis in 1933, eventually becoming a distinguished ophthalmologist specialising in colour perception. His book The Harmony of Colours (1956) reflected his lifelong investigation into the relationship between colour, perception and human experience. Naturalised French in 1952, he later taught in Paris and his artistic work was exhibited internationally. Pfeiffer’s practice embodies the Bauhaus principle of bringing art and science together, revealing a lifelong fascination with the nature and perception of colour.

EXHIBITION: ONE EYE SEES, THE OTHER FEELS