Frank Stella
When browsing the list of artists for this week's artist research I noticed the category 'painting and drawing' had many artists to choose from. After researching a selection of them, Frank Stella's work stood out to me instantly. I 'm a big fan of abstract, colorful, geometric designs which is exactly what Stella achieves in his pieces. Many of his prints and paintings are elegant and symmetrical whereas many others are warped and extremely complex. Those that are simple tend to employ circles and semi circles in different arrangements. The more complex pieces feature colored checkerboards mixed with swirling tornado patterns. All of them catch the viewer's eye in a different way that is unique to Frank Stella's style.
Frank Stella was born and raised in Massachusetts where he graduated from Phillips Academy. After high school he studied history at Princeton University. Visits to art museums in New York influenced his artistic side. Specifically, the abstract expressionist work of Jackson Pollock and Franz Kline is what inspired Stella to move in that direction. Expecting to get drafted by the army, he spent a summer in New York. When he wasn't drafted by the military he decided to take up painting as a serious career choice.
Stella's later work moved more towards 3D sculptures and installations after having been stuck in a repetitious cycle of creating similar prints and paintings. These works were highly experimental and utilized many different techniques to create the cones, pillars, French curves, waves, and decorative architectural elements that Stella was so fond of.
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