Helen Frankenthaler — A Revolution on Paper: Gagosian Rome Unveils Late-Career Masterpieces

This fall, Gagosian Rome is set to unveil a collection that will redefine your perception of one of America's most celebrated artists. "Helen Frankenthaler: Painting on Paper, 1990–2002" opens on September 30, 2024, showcasing 18 large-scale works that capture the essence of Frankenthaler's late-career renaissance. Many of these pieces have never before graced gallery walls, making this exhibition a true feast for the eyes and soul.

Helen Frankenthaler, a name synonymous with pioneering abstract expressionism, took a bold leap in her final decade. Abandoning the sprawling canvases that made her famous, she turned to paper as her primary medium. "I've always worked on paper," Frankenthaler mused in 1996, "but not conceived on the scale of my canvases. . . . The shift was a tremendous move for me." This transition wasn't merely a change in materials; it was a rebirth of artistic vision.

Imagine standing before "Santa Fe XIII" (1990), where Frankenthaler's brush dances across the paper, conjuring the ethereal skies and sun-baked earth of the American Southwest. Or lose yourself in the verdant depths of "End of Summer" (1995), where layers of green wash over handmade paper, creating a textural wonderland that begs to be touched.

But it's not all landscapes and seasons. Frankenthaler's untitled works from this period reveal an artist unbound. Picture an explosion of yellow, adorned with pastel lines and charcoal whispers, creating a composition that seems to vibrate with elemental energy. This is Frankenthaler at her most liberated, proving that true artistry knows no bounds of age or medium.

Frankenthaler's late-career shift wasn't just about changing canvases for paper. It was a technical evolution that saw her signature soak-stain technique transformed into something richer, denser, more tactile. Working on waist-high tables rather than the floor, she layered pigments with a newfound intensity, creating works that pulse with life and depth.

As the exhibition moves into works from the early 2000s, we see Frankenthaler drawing inspiration from her Connecticut home overlooking Long Island Sound. "Contentment Island" (2002) is a masterclass in aquatic abstraction, its turquoise and blue hues melding sky and sea in a way that makes you feel the salt spray on your skin. Frankenthaler herself observed of the view, "On certain days, the horizon line disappears completely. The sky seems to fall into the water." In this piece, we see that observation made gloriously manifest.

This Gagosian Rome exhibition isn't happening in isolation. It coincides with "Helen Frankenthaler: Painting without Rules" at Florence's Palazzo Strozzi, the largest presentation of her work ever mounted in Italy. Together, these shows offer an unprecedented opportunity to immerse oneself in the full breadth of Frankenthaler's legacy. This fall, John Elderfield's revised and expanded monograph on Frankenthaler will be published by Gagosian in collaboration with the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation. This tome promises to be the definitive resource on an artist who continually redefined the boundaries of abstract expression.

"Helen Frankenthaler: Painting on Paper, 1990–2002" at Gagosian Rome offers a rare glimpse into the late-career renaissance of an artist who never stopped pushing boundaries. From the sun-drenched vistas of Santa Fe to the misty shores of Connecticut, Frankenthaler's paper works invite us to see the world through her eyes—a world where color, texture, and emotion blend into pure visual poetry.