Frank Stella – Black Paintings

Perhaps this is to be expected. Art is not a science; it does not proceed in a neat, linear progression. Artists often circle back, picking up ideas that their predecessors left undeveloped and trying to push them further…The titles tend toward exotic if not downright flashy. ‘Averroes’ and ‘Avicenna’ are named for Arab philosophers (of the 11th and 12th centuries); ‘Marquis de Portago’ commemorates a charismatic Spanish racecar driver who died in a fiery crash in 1957. The gaps between the stripes are much more definite than in the Black Paintings, since Mr. Stella outlined them in pencil, but a certain lack of neatness persists, especially when the stripes turn corners, contributing to ebullient play between figure and ground.” Roberta Smith, NYT

Stella’s work is on display through June 2 at L&M Arts

This entry was posted on Monday, May 7th, 2012 at 8:00 am. It is filed under Creative Culture, New York City. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.