Frank Stella was one of the central figures in postwar American art. A proponent of minimalism and non-representational abstraction, Stella was a painter, printmaker and sculptor.
A native of Massachusetts, Stella 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, Stella 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 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 Stella's 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, the artist 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 museums 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 original Frank Stella art for sale on 1stDibs.
Tijuca #10 - High Relief Aluminum Abstract Painting, 1978
By Frank Stella
Located in Palm Desert, CA
'Tijuca #10' (1978) is an exceptional large-scale relief painting that marks a pivotal moment in Frank Stella’s evolution from Minimalist restraint to the bold, three-dimensional max...
Metal
$125,000
K.52
By Frank Stella
Located in London, GB
Frank Stella K.52 2006 Stainless steel tubing and cast aluminium 40.6 x 40.6 x 26.7 cms (16 x 16 x 10 1/2 ins) FS10201 K Series The series is based on the Italian composer Domenico...
Stainless Steel
$5,370
H 48 in W 67 in
My Joyful Heart - Lively Colorful Abstract 3-D Painted Weaving
By Shiri Phillips
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Impasto-painted strokes of bright colors are the framework of artist Shiri Phillips’ abstract artworks. Her paintings are flooded with texture through the layering of acrylic paint i...
Wire
$55,000
H 77 in W 21 in D 17 in
Mobius H6 Mirror Polished Stainless Steel - abstract, contemporary, sculpture
By Jeremy Guy
Located in Bloomfield, ON
Jeremy Guy’s distinctive abstract sculptures grace the grounds of many public places the world over. This is a favorite form—elegant, and bodacious, the curves of Mobius are based on...
Stainless Steel
$7,500
H 71 in W 21 in D 21 in
Huge Dorothy Gillespie Colorful Abstract Expressionist Enamel Painted Sculpture
By Dorothy Gillespie
Located in Surfside, FL
Dorothy Gillespie (1920 – 2012) Ribboned Image X 2001 Metal Ribbon Sculpture, Enamel on Aluminum with colorful striped green ribbons. Dimensions...
Metal, Enamel
$13,946
H 61.42 in W 38.59 in D 1.19 in
1970 Italy Modular Kinetic Stainless Steel Abstract Wall Panel by Maldonado
By Estuardo Maldonado
Located in Brescia, IT
The mirrored surfaces of the stainless steel Maldonado work of art, reflect the world around. Maldonado's artistic research has an ethological matrix: a sign as a kind of pre-Incan g...
Stainless Steel
$35,000
H 141 in W 70 in D 32 in
Convergence - abstract, geometric, corten and stainless steel outdoor sculpture
By Claude Millette
Located in Bloomfield, ON
This contemporary abstract outdoor sculpture is forged from steel. The dynamic, eclectic sculptural work of Quebec artist Claude Millette is highly regarded for its innovation in bo...
Stainless Steel, Steel
$3,000
H 23 in W 23 in D 16 in
Four Ring Temps Zero Red 7/10 - Sculpture, Polished Stainless Steel, Editioned
By Philippe Pallafray
Located in Bloomfield, ON
Four stainless steel rings, polished on the inside and matte red on the exterior, are curated into an elegant yet playful composition by Philippe Pallafray. This work is editioned an...
Stainless Steel
$2,400
H 17 in W 11 in D 12 in
1965 Canadian Israeli Art Brutalist Abstract Welded Steel Sculpture Eli Ilan
Located in Surfside, FL
Eli Ilan (אלי אילן), 1928-1982 was an Israeli sculptor. Abstract organic pod shape. in either steel or iron mounted on a wooden plinth. Ilan was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He enrolled in a premedical curriculum at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and emigrated to Israel in 1948. He then studied prehistoric archaeology and physical anthropology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 1956, he returned to Canada to study sculpture at the Ontario College of Art & Design. He lived in Kibbutz Sasa from 1959 to 1963. He died in 1982 in Caesarea, Israel. Education 1955 Hebrew University, Jerusalem, pre-historic archaeology and physical anthropology 1956 Ontario College of Art, Toronto, Canada, sculpture under Thomas Bowie 1959 Training College, Ottawa, criminal identification techniques 1969 Art Festival, Painting & Sculpture in Israel. Ganei Hataarucha, Tel Aviv Artists: Chana Orloff, Eli Ilan, Zvi Aldouby, Jacob El Hanani, Ludwig Blum, Aharon Bezalel, Koki Doktori...
Stainless Steel
$18,667
H 29.14 in W 19.69 in D 1.19 in
The New World by Estuardo Maldonado Geometric Abstract Steel Sculpture 1970
By Estuardo Maldonado
Located in Brescia, IT
This Estuardo Maldonado sculpture in engraved stainless steel, it's a unique artist's one-of-a-kind piece. The support is in satinated steel.
Stainless Steel
$2,000
H 24 in W 14 in D 6 in
Biography of a Drive-By: wall sculpture by Black African-American artist
By Richard J. Watson
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
This is a two-part wall mounted painting / sculpture this integrates found objects and photographs into an acrylic painting on the top, and a wooden shelf with bullet casings and coins below. This is a conceptual, abstract work of art that is a powerful homage to lives lost through calculated gun violence in American cites. signed by the artist. PROVENANCE: Exhibited in "Portals + Revelations: Richard J. Watson," the African American Museum in Philadelphia, Oct 2021 - Mar 2022. "Most of my works are supported by memories of the past and suggested realities. Issues of social politics, ancestral references, and astral projections are presented with fragmented elements...
Acrylic, Panel, Found Objects, Mixed Media
$9,000
H 23 in W 30 in D 3 in
3-part painting construction by Black African American artist, w/ found objects
By Richard J. Watson
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
This is an 3-part painting / construction (assemblage) created from acrylic paint, wood, glass, and found objects. It includes several historic photograph of figures as well as many scenes from Black African American cultural history. Each piece measures 23" x 7.75" x 2.5", and they can be hung close together or far apart, depending on the buyer's preference. All pieces are wired with the appropriate hanging hardware and are ready to install, no additional framing needed. PROVENANCE: Exhibited in "Portals + Revelations: Richard J. Watson," the African American Museum in Philadelphia, Oct 2021 - Mar 2022. "Most of my works are supported by memories of the past and suggested realities. Issues of social politics, ancestral references, and astral projections are presented with fragmented elements of 'real life' collaged and collapsed, as dreams are prone to do. If connections are made, all the better. I feel that life should remind us of our dreams." - Richard J. Watson Richard J. Watson is an icon in the Philadelphia art world. Much of his work relates to his experiences as a Black African American man. He is a graduate of Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (1968), has taught at his alma mater, and has served in the Exhibitions Department at the African American Museum in Philadelphia since the 1980s. He has been exhibiting his work for decades, and has an extensive bibliography. His work is held in the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art; the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; the Uniworld Corporation; Sony; the Federal Reserve Bank; the City of Philadelphia; Sprint; the Church of the Advocate; the poet Dr. Sonia Sanchez; and the Woodmere Museum...
Found Objects, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Glass, Wood
$2,400Sale Price|20% Off
H 12 in W 12 in
Tantra 48: minimalist abstract spiritual mandala sculpture painting, red circles
By Antonio Puri
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
Antonio Puri's "Tantra" sculptural painting is one of 100 intimately-scaled minimalist round mandala circles built from tiny seed beads adhered to canvas in a range of red hues, crea...
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
$278
H 10 in W 10 in
Forces of Nature 5 - Sculptural Abstract Minimalist Textural Artwork on Canvas
By Len Klikunas
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Len Klikunas creates sculptural minimalist artworks to modify experienced reality through visual perception. His original artwork is a mix of art and architecture, hovering between p...
Gesso, Mixed Media, Wood Panel
Frank Stella "Vortex Engraving" Charger, 2000
By Frank Stella
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Perhaps Stella's most radical act was the change of style he undertook in the late 1970's shifting from flat geometric abstraction to a dynamic almost "baroque" layering of...
Other Medium