Frank Stella; American, born 1936; La vecchia dell'orto, 1986; mixed media on etched magnesium, aluminum, canvas and fiberglass. 163 3/4” x 190 1/4” x 32 1/2”. Estate of Michael J. Fletcher, the Howald Fund and the Joyce and Willis Coffman Fund; and the Estate of Robert Bartels; with the assistance of the Pizzuti Family. (C) Frank Stella/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Dutch painter Theo van Doesburg (1884-1931) suggested in 1930 that the term “concrete” might serve as a descriptor for the plastic arts. That is, concrete art would not refer to the natural world, would be devoid of emotion and would be cerebral and spiritual rather than impassioned.
It was a way to pull together many pursuits that were heading toward a purely non-objective and, in many cases, minimalist approach. Frank Stella (American, born 1936) would have certainly been aware of these ideas. As a young artist, he made a very conscious effort to put aside the prevailing abstract expressionist mode, with its emphasis on the lushness of painting and gestural brushwork for a more geometric and restrained approach.
This painted and sculpted work by Stella at mid-career (La vecchia dell’orto, 1986, mixed media on etched magnesium, aluminum, canvas and fiberglass) shows an almost Baroque exuberance without abandoning the hard edge shapes and flat application of color. It has long been a signature piece from the Pizzuti Collection in the Columbus Museum of Art.
Art history often has links that are not clear at first, or that have been out of sight. Such is the case with the Cuban Neo-Concrete movement of the 1950s. Many of its main players – including Salvador Corratgé, Sandú Darié and Loló Soldevilla – are represented in the Cuban Forever Revisited exhibit at the Pizzuti Collection.
Cuban artists before the 1959 Revolution traveled widely and were very much in tune with the currents of modern art. While some went into exile, many stayed and, in fact, prospered. For the most part, the government seemed to let the arts flourish.
With one of the highest literacy rates in the world, there is a real love of culture in Cuba. Many artists who are new to our eyes have been celebrated elsewhere; throughout Europe, for example. Artists often realize substantial earnings from the sale of their work; in fact, they are an important source of foreign currency for Cuba.
You will continue to hear and see more of these artists thanks to collections such as the Pizzutis’ and dealers such as David Zwirner, whose New York gallery is publishing a substantial new book of the Neo-Concrete artists of Cuba.
Michael McEwan teaches oil painting classes in his Summit Street studio. His paintings are available exclusively from Keny Galleries, where his next exhibition opens Sept. 9. Learn more at www.michaelmcewan.com.
Cuban Forever Revisited
Through Dec. 31
Pizzuti Collection, Le Meridien and The Joseph – The Short North
Bodies@Work: The Art of Ruben and Isabel Toledo
Through June 18
Columbus Museum of Art
