HELEN
FRANKENTHALER
COLOR AND MOOD
Frankenthaler spent a lifetime pushing culture forward on several fronts. She was an integral figure in the New York School movement stitching together a circle of prominent critics, second generation abstract expressionists, poets, musicians, and thought leaders that gave breath and meaning to the most exciting creative work of the day. Later, she would lead through her philanthropy and foundation work, which continues on even after her death in 2011. Yet even compared to this lasting public good, and the earlier entertaining and social architecting she and her partner of five years, Clement Greenberg, were renowned for, Frankenthaler’s painting and printmaking made the greater impact. Through her singular approach, she imbued the surprisingly stayed Color Field movement with gesture, spontaneity, and an essence of the moment that helped to fracture the increasing strictures of abstraction, and bring about the freedom of form and approach artists enjoy today.
HELEN FRANKENTHALER Skywriting, 1997 Screenprint in colors 30 x 40 inches Edition of 110 POR
HELEN FRANKENTHALER All About Blue, 1994 Lithograph 48 x 28 3/4 inches Edition of 38 SOLD
Within her oeuvre, a viewer finds work ranging from subtly layered planes of color that rival Rothko in their restrained serenity and depth, to markedly unrestrained compositions of inky blooms and slashes of paint that emanate from the surface with the warmth and life of spring. That influence of nature on her practice is one of the defining features of a Frankenthaler, and something often prized by her collectors — the ineffable essence and beauty of the natural world impossibly embodied by a pure abstraction. It's no wonder we at the gallery can’t stop thinking of her this time of year. We are reminded of her art in each opening bud and every golden hour.
HELEN FRANKENTHALER Southern Exposure, 2005 Screenprint in colors on wove paper 30 1/2 x 37 1/8 inches Edition of 128 SOLD
In many ways, printmaking is a more natural home to Frankenthaler’s vision than works on canvas, a medium she grappled with to produce the thin, turpentine-soaked washes and stains she yearned for. In doing so, she often created beautiful but unstable paintings which continue to give headaches to the most talented conservators tasked with preserving them. In printmaking however, the medium lends itself to direct, thin, layered application to a rich and varied (and archival) surface — a perfect fit for Frankenthaler’s compositions. Furthermore, techniques like lithography and aquatint allow for an elimination of the hand of the artist when desired, increasing Frankenthaler’s ability to create works that seize all of the genius of abstract expression while discarding the machismo and narcissism inherent in so many of her peers’ work, or, put in her own words, printmaking allowed her to make images that look as though they “happened all at once.”
It is then, with great pleasure that we offer a grouping of Frankenthaler’s prints - a form so important to an artist’s practice who was, in turn, so important to the arch of art history and the shape of painting and printmaking today. Please inquire directly or email us at gallery@hamiltonselway.com.
HELEN FRANKENTHALER Spring Veil, 1987 Aquatint and drypoint in light and dark green, on Fabriano paper 17 1/4 x 25 5/8 inches Edition of 51 POR
HELEN FRANKENTHALER Soho Dreams, 1987 Color etching, aquatint, drypoint 15 3/4 x 18 3/4 inches Edition of 71 POR
HELEN FRANKENTHALER Grey Fireworks, 2000 Screenprint in colors on wove paper 28 x 46 inches Edition of 108 POR
"There are no rules. That is how art is born, how breakthroughs happen. Go against the rules or ignore the rules. That is what invention is about."
- Helen Frankenthaler
HELEN FRANKENTHALER Mary, Mary, 1990 Lithograph and screenprint 42 1/8 x 32 1/6 inches Edition of 72 POR
HELEN FRANKENTHALER Tiger's Eye, 1987 Aquatint, lithograph, etching and screenprint in colors 18 3/4 x 22 1/8 inches Edition of 56 SOLD
HELEN FRANKENTHALER Broome Street at Night, 1987 Etching, aquatint, and drypoint in colors on Magnani paper 39 1/8 x 39 1/8 inches Edition of 68 POR
HELEN FRANKENTHALER Earth Slice, 1978 Soft-ground etching, sugar-lift etching, and aquatint on Mauve HMP handmade paper 15 x 25 3/4 inches Edition of 46 POR
HELEN FRANKENTHALER Ganymede, 1978 Etching and aquatint 22 1/4 x 16 1/2 inches Edition of 49 POR