Minimalist artist Frank Stella (87) has died

NOS News•today, 02:33

American artist Frank Stella has died in his New York apartment at the age of 87. The painter, sculptor and graphic artist suffered from a form of cancer.

The artist became known in the late 1950s for his striking ‘Black Paintings’. The artworks were almost completely black and consisted of abstract symmetrical patterns. “I like the idea that these are very difficult paintings to understand,” Stella said in a 1972 interview. He preferred to explain his art as little as possible.

Later in his career, Stella continued to stick to the abstract forms he used earlier. He did, however, drastically move away from his black and white style: his artworks became strikingly colorful and energetic from the 1960s onwards.

In 1970, Frank Stella also began using three-dimensional elements in his art. It started small, but grew into enormous works of art in public spaces. The artwork ‘Broken Jug’ has been in Friesland since 2021, near the industrial port of Harlingen.

The sculpture in Harlingen is about fourteen meters high and weighs 45 tons. The story of the artwork is special. Stella started working on it in 2001. It was originally intended to be located next to a stadium in Miami, but it was rejected there.