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Helen Frankenthaler (1928 - )

Born on December 12, 1928, in New York, Helen Frankenthaler completed her artistic studies at Bennington College in Vermont. She then returned to her native New York where she was introduced to Abstract Expressionism in the 1950's. Frankenthaler is perhaps the most recognized and celebrated of all the women on the American art scene to date. She is a second generation abstract expressionist of whom it is said that although "She was not the first artist to stain canvases, she was the first to have developed a complete formal vocabulary for the technique." (Whitney Chadwich). From a viewer's standpoint, the vocabulary she created seems to matter less than the stimulating vibrancy of her works.

Frankenthaler was a trailblazer. Allowing paints to soak into the very fiber of raw canvas while employing colors that seemed to float away from the surface three-dimensionally, she set the art scene on its ear. By pouring thinned paint (originally oil-based, but later acrylics) directly onto raw canvas--a material that was usually sealed against such pigment penetration--and allowing it to soak into the support, rather than painting on top, Frankenthaler changed forever what was considered the accepted method of application.

The technique, referred to as "stain painting," became the hallmark of her style and enabled her to create canvases that generated a mesmerizing ethereal quality. Manipulating the paint using rollers, squeegees and towels, she controlled the flow by pushing it into thin layers, pooled it to create thickness and blotted it to achieve rich combinations of color on simple, open fields. One major art critic of the 1950's and long-standing friend Clement Greenberg hailed her work as a "breakthrough moment in the history of modern art." Frankenthaler's work was cited as critical in the development of a new group of artists known as the "color field" painters. This is the group of painters who bridged the gap between works such as those created by Jackson Pollock and what was "believable." While their works hold little in common, Frankenthaler credits Jackson Pollock with her introduction to a freer and less controlled application technique that she adapted to her methods.

Even though her work is non-representational, as is the case with all other Color field painters, Frankenthaler continues to base her work on nature, both observed and imagined. When the style of her work is seen as a form of American landscape tradition, it can also be included in the context of 20th century abstraction. Flowing pigments, which create their own shapes and edges, became her metaphor for experiences with nature. The use of metallic pigments, for which she was again recognized as a pioneer (actual ground metal particles, initially), gave a brilliance and luster that had been absent in naturalists' works up to this time.

The flow of shapes into shapes and the use of aggressive color heighten the viewing experience of Frankenthaler's works. Her paintings are individual in style and meaning, and she developed an unconscious attitude that culture was not foreign or exotic, but just one part of who she was. Her use of color and the scale of her work further acknowledge that style, for which she has been known since the 1950's.

For over 25 years, Frankenthaler was the Grande Dame of the abstraction movement. The innovation in her technique reverberated through the art world for over 25 years. While she is no longer in the forefront of American abstraction, she will forever be remembered as a pioneer of American Abstract Expressionism and of color field painters. Her explosive rise to fame, which seemed to happen overnight, was not a short-termed flash but an enduring and important part of the entire evolution of abstraction. Throughout the years, her work has taken on an even more abstracted reality and has grown in grandeur of scale. As with her fellow color field artist Mark Rothko, the scale and color sensibilities in her work will always evoke emotional response.

Works by Helen Frankenthaler can be found in many major museum collections throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. In 1966 Frankenthaler was one of only four U.S. painters represented at the Venice Biennale. Her work was featured in regular exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art. She was honored with a solo exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum and numerous other major galleries nationwide. Frankenthaler was awarded a 2001 National Medal of Arts. Seldom do viewers of her work leave unaffected. There is raw emotion on her canvases and studied review of them can be life changing.

Abstraction is not a style of painting favored by the masses. One of the major reasons for this is its lack of recognizable features. But, by very definition, abstraction offers more pure emotion and direct connection with the painter than other styles. One exercise to better understand or appreciate abstraction is to first select a realistic scene. Lay tracing paper over the image and trace the lines used in the shapes of the painting. You have just "abstracted" the original image. Take this image and change some element, such as making all straight lines curved lines or laying patterns into the open fields of the drawing. What you have created is your own personal abstracted reality. When applied to scenes from nature or even objects of everyday life, abstraction becomes a personal and illuminating experience. Perhaps you should give it a try.

Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 12 No. 7 -- May 2002