 29
April 31 May 2003
Bernard
Jacobson Gallery hosts the first showing worldwide of a new series of
works by Frank Stella.
The new works are
named after key archeological sites in ancient Anatolia, the seat of neolithic
civilisation from 7000-6000 BC. Stella has documented his fascination
with early art forms, writing, after a visit to the caves at Lascaux in
1999: 'I found it hard to imagine, and then, even having actually seen
it, I still found it hard to believe that Palaeolithic painting is easily
the equal of the best Renaissance painting ... Now having thought it all
over, I am struck by how the confidence and looseness of abstract painting
at the end of the century can help us match their successes.'
Although named after
specific sites, these works are not representations of them, however the
techniques and materials he is using in this new work - sand casting and
found object - are suggestive of the whole archeological process. Extraordinary
conglomerations of rusted metal and shiny aluminium. up to 2.5 metres
across, these wall sculptures are mounted on a ring which allows them
to be rotated and displayed at any angle.
Now 66 years old,
Stella continues to innovate. His fascination with space in painting has
led him from two to three dimensional work, resulting recently and dramatically
in a 9 metre sculpture commission for the National Gallery of Art in Washington.
Installed outside the Gallery¹s East Wing in January 2002, it has
been hailed by the Director as Œone of the great sculptures of our
age.¹ This monumental piece is the culmination of a body of work
based on the writings of Heinrich von Kleist, which was seen on exhibition
in Europe and Singapore last year. Stella has also been working on designs
for habitable spaces, conceiving a number of architectural projects which
have yet to come to fruition, such as a Bandshell for Miami and a museum
in Germany.
For further information
please contact Theresa Simon Communications
t +44 (0)20 7629 9645 e pr@theresasimon.com
|
