Painters – serie

FRANK STELLA

A study of the American abstract artist Frank Stella (b. 1936), surveying his career from the famous Black Paintings of the late 1950s up to the present.

Frank Stella has become become among America's premier contemporary artists. Unlike many 20th century artists, Stella has always worked in abstraction. His art is irrepressible, daring, hugely enjoyable, and refreshingly angst-free. This book begins with the celebrated Black Paintings of 1959, moves on through the Minimalist Copper and Aluminium paintings of the early Sixties, to the exuberant Protractor series, the expansion into three dimensions in the 1970s, and closing with the 3-dimensional Polish Village, Exotic Birds and Brazilian 'maximalist' works of the 1980s and 1990s.

Employing the most up-to-date art criticism of Frank Stella, James Pearson also looks at Stella's contemporaries: Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitski, Morris Louis, Robert Ryman, Brice Marden, Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman among others.

Includes new illustrations. EXTRACT FROM CHAPTER 5

There does not seem to be much going on in some of Frank Stella's 1960s Minimal paintings. But there is, in fact, a lot going on. Stella limits himself to a narrow set of rules. Like Brice Marden, Barnett Newman, Morris Louis and Mark Rothko, Stella sets himself to explore a few configurations of painting. But these things - the shape of the canvas, internal organization of the stripes, colour of the bands - offer up endless permutations.

Frank Stella's paintings are lean, but leanness does not necessarily mean unfeelingness. This is the problem that monochrome painting creates, and Minimal art in general. Certainly Stella is intense: his Black Stripe Paintings, his Protractor series, his copper paintings, his India Birds, are intense works of art.

The Stella exhibitions of the late 1980s and early 1990s were affairs, in which one was impressed by a sense of colour and light, a spaciousness to the works, and a huge scale, so that each work dominated the gallery rooms. Stella is in no way a quiet, unobtrusive artist: his paintings are domineering, self-confident, assured of their own effects. Stella has always been an artist who knows what he's doing. His paintings do not lurk in gallery corners, shyly. His paintings announce themselves instantly and powerfully. Stella's June-July 1985 show at the ICA in London was typical: massive multi-media works were squeezed into the ubiquitous sparse white rooms, completely taking over the sedate spaces.

EROTIC ART IN THE 19TH CENTURYby Cassidy Hughes

The history of erotic art in the 19th century is explored in this detailed and fully illustrated survey.

The major erotic artists of the nineteenth century are featured: Thomas Rowlandson, Jean Baptiste Dominique Ingres, Felicien Rops, Pierre Renoir, Gustave Courbet, J.M.W. Turner, Edgar Degas, Gustav Klimt, Gustave Moreau, Aubrey Beardsley and William Bouguereau. Also, many anonymous artists of prints, paintings and photographs.

'Erotic Art In the 19th Century' also includes discussions of topics related to erotic art, such as art and pornography (illustrated with numerous examples) • the female nude • the male nude • censorship • photography and eroticism • sex and religion • sexuality and Christianity • pagan and mythological erotic art • phallic art • lesbian art • orgasm • voyeurism • artists and models.

The first part of this book on 19th century erotic art uses short entries about aspects of erotic art (with examples from the whole history of erotic art). The bulk of the second part of the book focusses on the celebrated artists of the 19th century whose work is considered erotic, as well as many anonymous works. The appendices feature 50 pages with many more classics of erotic art of the 19th century.

Fully illustrated. This book contains many illustrations which are rare. And an introduction and bibliography. 


316 pages. Paperbackwww.crmoon.com