Bidspirit auction | Frank Stella: The Dying Whale

Frank Stella: The Dying Whale (Incorporating The Hat, The Specksynder and The Glider) - STELLA, FRANK 1936 Malden/Massachusetts - 2024 New York Title: The Dying Whale (Incorporating The Hat, The Specksynder and The Glider). Date: 1990. Technique: Aluminium and various materials on steel. Measurement: Different dimensions: Raft of the Medusa Part II: 258 x 279 x 223.5 cm; Raft of the Medusa Part III: 284.5 x 231 x 223.5 cm; The Hat: 91 x 46 x 48 cm; The Gilder: 95 x 122 x 30.5 cm; The Specksnyder: 107 x 119 x 76 cm; Untitled: 225 x 233 x 166 cm. Overall dimensions: approx. 320 x 380 x 380 cm. The sculpture can be viewed by appointment at a storage facility near Zurich. Provenance: - Gallery Leo Castelli and Larry Gagosian, New York - Asher B. Edelman - Private Collection Exhibitions: - Gallery Leo Castelli and Larry Gagosian, New York 1990/91 - Whitney Museum of American Art, New York 1991 (Biennial) - Fondation Asher Edelman, Musée d'Art Contemporain, Lausanne 1991-1995 - Plutschow Gallery and Edelman Arts, Zurich 2019 Literature: - Exhib. cat. Biennial Exhibition, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York 1991, p. 278, ill. (titled here: Raft of Medusa, Part II and Part III) - Exhib. cat. Selection: Oeuvres de la Collection, FAE (Fondation Asher Edelman), Musée d'Art Contemporain, Lausanne 1991, p. 154 - Wallace, Robert K.: Frank Stella's Moby Dick: Words and Shapes, Michigan 2000, p. 207, cat. no. 227, ill. - A spectacular work of museum quality from every angle - One of the first floor sculptures in Stella's diverse oeuvre - Part of the Moby Dick cycle, in which he intensively visualizes Herman Melville's novel - A monumental symbol of survival, transformation, and creative energy in the face of decay The boundary-breaker of the 20th century Frank Stella produced thousands of works in over 60 years of creative activity and, with his radical approach to form, color, and space, shaped the understanding of painting and sculpture in the 20th and 21st centuries like few others. Born in Malden, Massachusetts, Stella first studied at Phillips Academy in Andover and later at the renowned Princeton University. After moving to New York in 1958, he found himself at the center of the vibrant avant-garde scene. He quickly attracted attention with his “Black Paintings, ” whose austere, serial structure laid the foundation for Minimal Art. In the following decades, Stella consistently developed his practice further: from geometric color field compositions to relief-like works to large-format, space-consuming constructions that intertwine painting and sculpture. Again and again, he broke boundaries and explored the possibilities of abstract art anew. Stella's work gained international recognition early on: as early as 1970, the Museum of Modern Art in New York dedicated a major retrospective to him as the youngest artist of his time. Numerous exhibitions in leading museums worldwide followed, as did prestigious awards, including the National Medal of Arts in 2009. The shift from minimalist to maximalist Frank Stella's monumental work “The Dying Whale (Incorporating The Hat, The Specksynder and The Glider)” marks a decisive turning point in his oeuvre. Originally conceived under the title “Raft of the Medusa Part II and III, ” named after Théodore Géricault's “The Raft of the Medusa” from 1819, it is one of the first works in which Stella moves from wall objects to a freestanding floor object. When the work was first exhibited at Leo Castelli, Stella mounted the three smaller objects “The Hat, ” “The Specksnyder, ” and “The Glider” on one of the steel plates, after which he gave the sculpture its current title in 1997 and finally included it in his extensive Moby Dick cycle. Inspired by Herman Melville's novel, Stella created around 135 aluminum reliefs, along with prints, several paintings, and sculptural objects, over a period of almost 15 years from 1986 onwards, corresponding to the 138 chapters of the book. Three corroded steel plates give the work a three-dimensional frame from which chaotic-looking, spirally twisted and dynamically curved forms break out. The seemingly randomly chosen materials, such as steel, aluminum, wire mesh, and plaster-like surfaces, condense into powerful whirlpools that convey both vitality and apocalyptic energy. The composition is reminiscent of waves crashing against a raft, nets or debris, the movement of the sea, but also industrial scrap. Stella is interested in surfaces, light, reflection, and the way different materials react to each other, how they break out, overlap, and yet stick together. Movement and lines create an abstract, pictorial counterpart to the atmosphere of Melville's text. In its formal and material innovation, “The Dying Whale” exemplifies Stella's tireless development. From the geometric structures of minimalism to the expressive, expansive forms of the late 1980s and 1990s, Stella broadens our understanding of painting.