Frank Stella is an American artist born in 1936 in Massachusetts. He studied painting at Phillips Academy and graduated from Princeton University. Stella lives in New York City and is known for his minimalist and abstract paintings that use simple geometric shapes and repetitive lines. In the 1960s, Stella focused on flat, two-dimensional canvases but in the 1980s his work became more sculptural and three-dimensional. Some of his most notable series include works based on circles from the 1970s called the Protractor Series. Stella continues to experiment with form and push the boundaries of abstract art.

1. Frank
Stella
(Powerpoint from the public schools of Robeson County)

2. Frank Stella
• From Massachusetts
•Was born on May 12, 1936
in Malden, MA.
•Still an active artist-
currently lives in New York

3. Frank Stella…
• Studied painting @
the Phillips
Academy in
Andover, MA.
• Attended and
graduated from
Princeton University.
• Now lives in New
York City.

4. Minimalist / Abstract
painter……what do
you think that means?
Look at the painting
for clues…..are the
shapes flat (2D) or
deep (3D)?

5. “The Wadsworth
Antheneum: Ten
Works by Ten
Artists”
silkscreen,
24x20 in, 1964

7. Abstract Art
• Definition:
• (noun) - Abstract art can be a painting
or sculpture (including assemblage) that
does not depict a person, place or thing
in the natural world -- even in an
extremely distorted or exaggerated way.
Therefore, the subject of the work is
based on what you see: color, shapes,
brushstrokes, size, scale and, in some
cases, the process.

8. • Abstract art began
in 1911 with such
works as Picture
with a Circle (1911)
by the Russian artist
Wassily Kandinsky
(1866-1944).
• Kandinsky believed
that colors provoke
emotions.

9. Minimalist Art
• Minimalism or Minimal Art is a form of
abstraction.
• It focuses on the most essential and
elemental aspects of an object.

10. What element of art is Stella using in this painting?

11. Does this painting look like it is
moving? How?

12. Stella loved
to use
SIMPLE
geometric
shapes &
lines.
What geometric
shapes do you
see? What types
of lines?

13. “The experience of looking at a painting should not
seem to end at the frame.”
-Frank Stella

14. What do these
shapes remind
you of?
Do you see
repetition?

16. Artist: Frank Stella
Title: Tahkt-I-Sulayman Variation II
Date: 1969 Medium: acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: H.120 x W.240 in.

17. “Abstract painting of today has lost touch with the
energy and vitality of the past.”
-Frank Stella
Frank Stella tried to be different than other
abstract artists at the time so he crated art
that was completely black and black.

18. • In the 1980’s
Stella’s artwork
became more
sculptural…..he
was
“experimenting”
with the element
of SPACE.
• Does this
artwork look flat
(2D)?

19. • Do his shapes
still look
geometric?

20. • Stella’s shapes
became more
ORGANIC.
• Stella was now
working in
3-dimensions.
• Created free-
standing sculptures
for displays in
public places.

23. • Stella even had the
opportunity to design a
car for BMW!!!

24. Now we will be creating a project
inspired by Frank Stella’s organic
shapes & abstract style!
• We will be focusing on the elements of:
SPACE, SHAPE & LINE.

25. Frank Stella’s Protractor
Series – 71 Paintings
Based on the Circle

26. Raqqa II, Frank Stella
NC Museum of Art Raleigh, NC

27. Protractor Series, Frank Stella

28. Harran II, Frank Stella,
Guggenheim Museum, New York
City

29. Protractor Series, Frank Stella

30. Frank Stella, Painting in the
Protractor Series

31. Frank Stella, the artist in front of
his painting, Firuzabad, in 1970