Averroes (1960), Marquis de Portago (1960). All photographs courtesy L + M Gallery.
15 of Frank Stella‘s important early works are on display in Black Aluminum Copper at L&M Arts in New York City’s upper east side. With a heavy sense of history, the show moves from the stark, post-war attitude of works such as Die Fahne hoch! (‘Raise the flag’) & Arbeit Macht Frei (‘Work Liberates’, the sign hung on the gates at Auschwitz) to the more spacious pre-minimalism of Avicenna or Telluride. These works were completed between 1958–61, the period immediately following Stella’s graduation from Princeton and move to NYC.
Telluride (1960-61), Creede I (1961), Creede II (1961)
The paintings often take on massive and seemingly magical proportions, created with common and inexpensive materials. A gracious but utilitarian feeling to works such as Creede I & Creede II, Avicenna or Averroes, illustrate Stella’s metered feel and cultural timing in response to New York City’s suddenly defunct Abstract Expressionism.
Untitled (1959), Point of Pines (1959), Zambezi (1959), Delta (1958)
Untitled (1959), Point of Pines (1959), Zambezi (1959)
Creede I (1961), Creede II (1961), Pagosa Springs (1960)
—D. Cloninger
Related Links:
Exhibition Site [L + M]
