Sunset Corner
Helen Frankenthaler
Description
Helen Frankenthaler is one of the most important pioneers of postwar American painting. A major figure in the Color Field movement, which features large expanses of strong, abstract colors, Frankenthaler experimented with poured pigments and staining techniques in order to focus attention on color values and eliminate the potential distractions of brushwork for the viewer.
In "Sunset Corner," highly saturated blocks of intense color are "freed" from the crafted bounds of figurative shapes and surface textures. The result is a purely visual experience, not unlike viewing a spectacular sunset. Color Field work like Frankenthaler’s is frequently put to the service of chromatic sensation—something the viewer can experience through a sustained and concentrated immersion in the colored areas of this painting.
(A. Dixon, 20th Century Gallery installation)
Subject Matter:
The subject matter of this Color Field painting is primarily the visual experience of the colors, their relationships to one another. With its title, "Sunset Corner," the painting prompts the viewer to reflect on the oranges and yellows of sunset and the vastness of the sky.
Physical Description:
A vast surface of orange yields in the very bottom of the painting to a swath of yellow, under which there is a line of white and green, and under that a thin black line.
Usage Rights:
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