About Frank Stella

Frank Stella is a sculptor, painter and graphic artist. He studied painting at the Philips Academy in Andover, followed by history and art history at Princeton University, where he was influenced by Franz Kline and Jackson Pollock and met Jasper Johns. After his studies Stella moved to New York.

Barnett Newman and Mark Rothko also influenced Stella. The geometric abstraction, without a trace of expressiveness, is a reaction to the spontaneous, emotional design of the abstract expressionism in the 1950s. Frank Stella laid the foundation for minimalism with his black paintings and geometric paintings with black stripes.

Stella became known as a representative of hard-edge painting. He constantly reinvented himself and was exceptionally productive. Later he developed a style called Color Field; no trace of expression there either. To avoid any emotional association or artificial impression, he uses brushes, tools and paints which ordinary house painters would use aswell.

In the early 1960s he travelled to Europe and later held his first exhibitions in the United States. In 1964 he represented his homeland at the 17th Venice Biennale and extensively exhibited abroad. In 1968 and 1977 his work was shown at Documenta (4 and 6) in Kassel. He has taught at Yale University for a number of years.

In the 1970s he introduced relief into his art. The Polish Village series is a reference to the synagogues in Poland that were destroyed in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. He gradually became more interested in Jewish themes.

Stella’s work was shown twice at ART ZUID. In 2013, Penasar, a work of aluminum that he made between 2005 and 2011, was an attempt  and an illusion to escape gravity. The next edition (2015) showed Inflated Star and Wooden Star. Two giant stars, one in galvanized steel and one in teak.