US artist Frank Stella dies at the age of 87

Stella, who was considered one of the most important US artists of his generation, died of cancer at home in New York on Saturday (local time) at the age of 87, the New York Times and the Washington Post reported, citing Harriet McGurk, the artist’s wife. In a few days, one of his most famous works, “Concentric Squares,” will go under the hammer at Christie’s auction house in New York.

Born in 1936 in the East Coast metropolis of Boston, Stella shocked the art world at the end of the 1950s with a series of completely black paintings. The black images were followed by silver and copper-colored ones. As the 1960s progressed, his pictures became more colorful, including the use of fluorescent acrylic paints. Later, Stella also made reliefs and large-scale sculptures. The play with geometric shapes remained constant.

Image: EPA/MATTHIAS LEITZKE

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Frank Stella in front of his wall sculptures
Image: EPA/MATTHIAS LEITZKE

The artist’s works have been exhibited worldwide. Among other things, New York’s Whitney Museum dedicated the inaugural retrospective in the new building to him in 2015, and the Museum of Modern Art even dedicated two retrospectives to him. Stella “changed the history of art with his early work and then moved on,” says Roberta Smith, art critic for the New York Times.

Stella came to New York because he was attracted to the local scene and artists like Jasper Johns and Jackson Pollock. “I wouldn’t have become an artist in the first place if I hadn’t liked the artists of this generation so much,” he once told the British Telegraph. He was discovered by the gallery owner Leo Castelli. “I spent a lot of time in his gallery. He recognized me because I looked so disheveled,” Stella later claimed.

Image: APA/AFP/TIMOTHY A. CLARY