Sprüth Magers is currently presenting its first solo exhibition of works by the American abstract painter Frank Stella at its Berlin gallery. The exhibition features works from the artist’s Polish Village and Bali series, which although 30 years apart showcase his ongoing experiments with spatial representation in both literal and illusionistic space.Stella’s Polish Village series of the 1970s marked a turning point in his practice. Taking inspiration from the Polish synagogues depicted in the book “Wooden Synagogues” (1959) by Maria and Kazimierz Piechotka, Stella produced 42 sketches during the late summer and fall of 1970, from which he then created more than 130 large wall reliefs between 1970 and 1974.The groundbreaking reliefs extend the artist’s familiar format of shaped canvases from the two-dimensional to the three-dimensional, with the aim of constructing a painting that transcended the spatial limitations of the two-dimensional. The exhibition at Sprüth Magers includes collages and reliefs that reveal the different phases of Stella’s experiments with materials and techniques.Stella’s Bali series (2002-2009) of sculptural metal creations was inspired by an anthropological study on the people of Bali by Gregory Bateson and Margaret Mead. The Bali works reveal the artist’s unrestrained development in the art of transforming curvilinear forms using the latest materials, according to the curatorial statement by Dr. Artur Tanikowski.“Given the fine arts, architecture, painting, and sculpture, I feel caught in the middle,” Stella has said. The exhibition at Sprüth Magers, on show until a September 3, is testament to Stella’s enduring dedication and commitment to investigating the relationship between painting, sculpture, and architecture, which he conducts with the tenacity and singular focus of a true visionary. “Frank Stella” is at Sprüth Magers Berlin until September 3, 2016
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