HELEN FRANKENTHALER "SUDDEN SNOW" 1987

Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011) is one of the most revered abstract painters of the 20th century, and one of the most successful and collected female artists of all time.

She was a key player in the evolution of Abstract Expressionism. Elaborating on techniques made famous by Jackson Pollock, specifically pouring paint directly onto (frequently) unprimed canvas, Frankenthaler led the next major movement in American Abstraction: Color Field painting. 

The artist was a prolific and experimental printmaker. She worked with lithography, etchings, woodcuts, and screenprints. This work, like many in her oeuvre, was created with an elaborate process using several different printmaking techniques.

Frankenthaler's success in the realm of printmaking can be attributed to two frequent characteristics: her restraint and her color choices. Frankenthaler's prints are frequently less gestural than her paintings, realized with a "lighter hand" in more cohesive or gentle palettes. She allows shapes, washes, or wisps of color to be the dominant elements in these compositions.  

Although Helen Frankenthaler did create a few series of prints, one of the defining characteristics of her printmaking output from the 1980's is its aesthetic diversity and her eagerness for unpredictability, especially with her palettes.

In "Sudden Snow" Frankenthaler has distributed, applied and removed color with something akin to a palette knife or squeegee. While rarely associated with either Paul-Émile Borduas or Gerhard Richter, this print recalls the oeuvre and techniques of both artists. There is little sense of staining or absorption, instead color interacts, confronts and merges with its neighbors.  Pale capri blue is tamed by pure white while simultaneously trying to dominate the diaphanous stone gray elements from the top of the composition. In the near center of the work is a subtle inclusion of violet, that creates a contrast that illuminates the piece. 

While this piece is unquestionably abstract, the title and the palette allude to the dramatic spontaneity and power of winter.  

This piece can be found in several prominent museum collections including the Walker, and the National Gallery of Australia. 

“Sudden Snow"

USA, 1987

Ten color lithograph on white Arches Cover paper

Signed, dated, and numbered by the artist

From an edition of 50

Printed and published by Tyler Graphics 

31.75"H 23.5"W (work) 

Very good condition

Note: recently updated grey frame, additional images coming soon.