Helen Frankenthaler: Painterly Constellations

The American abstract painter Helen Frankenthaler experimented tirelessly throughout her six-decade career and became one of the pioneers of Colour Field painting during the 1960s. This exhibition at the Museum Folkwang in Essen (2 December–5 March 2023) marks the first showing of the artist’s works in Germany for more than 20 years. Alongside her vividly coloured soak-stain canvases, the show includes a collection of some 75 works on paper created between 1949 and 2002, demonstrating how Frankenthaler consistently challenged painterly conventions. Large-scale works such as Viewpoint I (1974) provide examples of Frankenthaler’s abstract explorations of landscape, while later works such as Untitled (2002) reveal her innovative approach to colour. Find out more on the Museum Folkwang’s website.

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Untitled (2002), Helen Frankenthaler. © Helen Frankenthaler Foundation / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2022

Viewpoint I (1974), Helen Frankenthaler. Collection Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, New York © Helen Frankenthaler Foundation / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2022

Santa Fe XIII (1990), Helen Frankenthaler. Collection Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, New York. © Helen Frankenthaler Foundation / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2022