What was Minimalism, and how did Stella's early work embody it?

Minimalism was an art movement that focused on extreme abstraction, using basic shapes and limited colors. Frank Stella's early work embodied it because he considered paintings on canvas as objects in their own right, like sculptures, rather than representations. This led him to reject certain formal conventions, eschewing sketches and often using nontraditional materials, like house paint. In 1959, Stella created his Black Paintings series, in which thin, precise stripes of bare canvas separate bands of black paint. At a time when contemporary painting was all about wild gestures, thick paint and formal abandon, these pieces created a sensation. Explore a collection of Frank Stella art on 1stDibs.