Helen Frankenthaler

In the mid-1970s, Helen Frankenthaler created panoramic large-scale paintings over 4 meters wide. After Hours is an outstanding example of this. It represents the emancipation and condensation of the line into expansive, pulsating color fields. A studio photograph captures her revolutionary working method: Frankenthaler determined the framing of the composition only after painting, stretching the canvas onto the stretcher afterward.
Violet, yellow, and brown color fields drift across a light blue background like layers of mist. They evoke the atmosphere of twilight or a sunset. The overlapping of these fields creates a constant shift of elements within the pictorial space, between foreground and background. Everything seems to be in motion. The interplay of earth and sky colors evokes associations with a landscape of mountains, water, and sky.
In her art, Helen Frankenthaler repeatedly explores the relationship between painting, landscape, and abstraction.

Helen Frankenthaler (1928–2011)

After Hours, 1975

Currently exhibited: Yes (Helen Frankenthaler: Move and Make)

Material: Acrylic paint on canvas
Size: 152.6 x 430 cm
Inv-Nr.: B_429
Image rights: VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn; Copyright: Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, New York

Keywords:

• Abstract Expressionism
• Color field painting
• Soak-stain-technique