Frank StellaFrank Stella 'The Funeral' (Dome) 19921992
1992
About the Item
- Creator:Frank Stella (1936, American)
- Creation Year:1992
- Dimensions:Height: 73.5 in (186.69 cm)Width: 53 in (134.62 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Miami, FL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU979311484442
Frank Stella
Frank Stella is one of the central figures in postwar American art. A proponent of minimalism and non-representational abstraction, Stella is a painter, printmaker and sculptor. A native of Massachusetts, he attended Phillips Academy in Andover and earned a BA from Princeton, where he studied art and color theory with Josef Albers and Hans Hofmann.
Stella frequented New York galleries as a student and was intrigued by the work of Jackson Pollock and Franz Kline, both of whom were at the height of their creative powers in the late 1950s. After moving to New York in 1958, he gravitated toward the geometric abstraction and restrained painting style of Barnett Newman and Jasper Johns. Johns’s flat, graphic images of common objects such as targets and flags prompt viewers to question the essential nature of representation and whether these pictures are really paintings or simply new iterations of the items themselves. Stella pushed Johns’s reasoning further, considering 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 bands of black paint are separated by thin, precise stripes of bare canvas. At a time when contemporary painting was all about wild gestures, thick paint and formal abandon, these pieces created a sensation. That same year, Stella's work was included in the exhibition "Sixteen Americans" at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and he joined the roster of artists represented by Leo Castelli Gallery. In 1960, he began introducing color into his work and using unconventionally shaped canvases to complement his compositions.
In his “Eccentric Polygon” series, from 1965 and ‘66, Stella embraces asymmetry and bold color, creating forms delineated by painted fields and by the edges of the canvas. This series was followed by the 1967–70 “Protractor” series, characterized by colorful circles and arcs. Named after the ancient cities whose circular plans Stella had noticed while traveling in the Middle East during the 1960s, these works usually comprised several canvases set flush against one another so that the geometric figures in each section came together in a larger, more complex whole.
Also in the mid-1960s, Stella started exploring printmaking, initially working with Kenneth Tyler, of Gemini G.E.L., and later installing printing equipment in his own studio. In 1968, he created the “V” series of lithographs,which included the print Quathlamba I. Following a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 1970, Stella began working in three dimensions, adding relief elements to paintings, which could almost be considered wall-mounted sculptures.
Stella’s 1970–73 “Polish Village” series was inspired by a documentary photos and architectural drawings of Polish synagogues that had been destroyed by Nazis during World War II. The resulting works — composed primarily of paint and cloth on plywood — are more rugged and less polished than his previous series. Herman Melville's Moby Dick was his muse for a series of three- dimensional works he created in the 1980s in which waveforms, architectural elements and Platonic solids play a prominent role. During this period, Stella embraced a new, exuberant style that is exemplified in "La Scienza della Fiacca." In 1997, he oversaw the creation of the Stella Project, a 5,000-square-foot work inside the Moores Opera House at the University of Houston. A large free-standing sculpture by Stella stands outside the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
Stella’s work is in the collections of numerous important museum collections around the world, including New York’s Museum of Modern Art and Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Menil Collection, in Houston; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, in Washington, D.C.; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Obama in 2009, and was given the Lifetime Achievement Award in Contemporary Sculpture by the International Sculpture Center in 2011.
Find a collection of Frank Stella's art on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Miami, FL
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 2 days of delivery.
- Alex Katz 'Small Cuts House and Barn' 2008 PrintBy Alex KatzLocated in Miami, FLALEX KATZ (1927-Present) This beautiful Alex Katz 'Small Cuts House and Barn' is a 2008 aquatint in color from a small edition size of 60. This piece is numbered 46/60 and hand sign...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Prints and Multiples
MaterialsAquatint, Archival Ink
- Alex Katz 'Face of the Poet' (Schröder 29-34) Portfolio 1978By Alex KatzLocated in Miami, FLALEX KATZ (1927-Present) This rare Alex Katz 'Face of the Poet' album is the complete set of fourteen aquatints in colors, on J. Green Hotpress paper. Conceived in 1978, each print ...Category
1970s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsAquatint
- Wayne Thiebaud 'River Turns' 1998/2011By Wayne ThiebaudLocated in Miami, FLWayne Thiebaud's 'River Turns' is a 1998/2011 etching in color. The dimensions of the full sheet measure at 15 x 20 inches. This print is signed in pencil, dated and numbered '3/40 R...Category
1990s Contemporary Prints and Multiples
MaterialsAquatint
- Alex Katz 'Christy' (Schröder 466) 2010By Alex KatzLocated in Miami, FLALEX KATZ (1927-Present) This Alex Katz print 'Christy' was published in 2010 published by the Museum Kurhaus Kleve and printed by Christopher T. Cre...Category
2010s Contemporary Prints and Multiples
MaterialsEtching, Aquatint
- Wayne Thiebaud 'Hill River' 2002By Wayne ThiebaudLocated in Miami, FLWayne Thiebaud's 'Hill River' is a 2002 drypoint and aquatint in color on wove paper. The dimensions of the full sheet measure at 21.25 x 30.5 inches. This print is signed in pencil,...Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Prints and Multiples
MaterialsAquatint
- Alex Katz 'Nancy' Aquatint and Etching on Arches Signed Portrait Print 1972By Alex KatzLocated in Miami, FLALEX KATZ (1927-Present) This Alex Katz print 'Nancy' is an aquatint and etching on Arches, published in 1972 . It is signed and numbered 41/50 in pencil, lower left. Printed by Hi...Category
1970s Contemporary Prints and Multiples
MaterialsEtching, Aquatint
- Yellow Flags 4 - 21st Century, Alex Katz Landscape Print, Orang, Yellow, FlowersBy Alex KatzLocated in Köln, DEYellow Flags 4 - 21st Century, Alex Katz Landscape Print, Orange, Yellow, Flowers, "Yellow Flags 4" is one of Alex Katz's famous flower prints. His flowers are the most reduced form...Category
2010s Contemporary Landscape Prints
MaterialsEtching, Aquatint
- Beauty 5 - etching, black and white, Katz, Ada, sunglassesBy Alex KatzLocated in Köln, DE"Beauty 5" is from Alex Katz' Beauty series. The topic "beauty" is a very important one for Katz. His whole body of work is due to beauty and it is a reminiscence to his wife Ada, to...Category
2010s Contemporary Portrait Prints
MaterialsEtching, Aquatint
- I WishBy Squeak CarnwathLocated in Berkeley, CAColor aquatint etching on Rives light weight cream paperCategory
2010s Contemporary Prints and Multiples
MaterialsEtching, Aquatint
- LightBy Squeak CarnwathLocated in Berkeley, CAColor aquatint etching on Rives light weight cream paperCategory
2010s Contemporary Prints and Multiples
MaterialsEtching, Aquatint
- Not KnownBy Squeak CarnwathLocated in Berkeley, CAColor Aquatint Etching on Rivere WhiteCategory
2010s Contemporary Prints and Multiples
MaterialsEtching, Aquatint
- MedicineBy Squeak CarnwathLocated in Berkeley, CAColor aquatint etchingCategory
2010s Contemporary Prints and Multiples
MaterialsEtching, Aquatint