Exibit, Helen Frankenthaler: Late Works, now open

NEW BRITAIN — New Britain Museum of American Art will debut the first museum presentation dedicated to the late work of Helen Frankenthaler.

“Helen Frankenthaler Late Works, 1990-2003,” features 22 works on paper on loan from the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation and marks the first comprehensive opportunity to see the fruits of Frankenthaler’s late career in depth, according to the museum. Curated by Douglas Dreishpoon, Director of the Helen Frankenthaler Catalogue Raisonné, and accompanied by a multi-authored publication with Radius Books, the exhibition will be on view at the New Britain Museum of American Art Feb. 12-May 23, before traveling to the Weatherspoon Art Museum in Greensboro, North Carolina from June 12-Aug. 29, and finally to the Palm Springs Art Museum in

California in fall 2021.

From the museum: Recognized as one of the great American artists of the 20th century and best known for her invention of the soak-stain technique, the painter was a fearless experimenter, particularly when it came to new materials and processes. In the later stages of her life, she deployed many of the same media and instruments that had been her longtime staples: charcoal, crayon, pastel, pen, and ink, as well as acrylic paint thinned out and applied with brushes, sponges, and an array of hardware utensils (windshield wipers, basters, and scrapers). Having always painted canvases directly on the studio floor, she started using larger sheets of paper—some measuring over 6 feet—likewise laid out on the floor or on table tops for easier accessibility.

“The continuity between the late work and what came before, in content and execution, is striking: compositions that vary from dense and somber to airy and buoyant; favored figures rendered in fresh contexts; and the curious commingling of amorphic and geometric configurations distinguish Frankenthaler’s poetic abstractions,” said Douglas Dreishpoon, Director of the Helen Frankenthaler Catalogue Raisonné and exhibition curator. “Graced with an expansive art-historical image bank and technical prowess, the seventy-something-year-old painter moved in whatever direction suited her mood and imagination.”

”We are honored to collaborate with the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation on the presentation of Helen Frankenthaler Late Works, 1990-2003 at the New Britain Museum of American Art,” said Min Jung Kim, Director and CEO of the New Britain Museum of American Art. “The exhibition celebrates the indelible legacy of one of the most visionary and innovative artists of the 20th century, and marks a significant highlight in our 2020/ 20+ Women@NBMAA initiative devoted exclusively to female-identifying artists. Moreover, as a Connecticut-based Museum, we are particularly excited to showcase this extensive body of work, created by Frankenthaler following her move to this state.”

Helen Frankenthaler (1928–2011) is recognized among the most important American abstract painters of the 20th century, widely credited for her pivotal role in the transition from Abstract Expressionism to Color Field painting. Best known for her invention of the soak-stain technique, Frankenthaler experimented tirelessly throughout her six-decade-long career, producing a large body of work in painting, prints, works on paper, and other mediums.

Additional information is available at https://nbmaa.org/2020.

Helen Frankenthaler / Contributed photo An exhibit of prints by Helen Frankenthaler is now showing at the New Britain Museum of American Art. Above, “Solar Blip.”