Frank Stella, the influential abstract artist celebrated for his pioneering explorations of geometry and color, passed away on May 4, 2024, at the age of 87. A monumental figure in post-war art, Stella had a six-decade career, during which he continually redefined the boundaries of painting and sculpture. His death was confirmed by his gallery, Marianne Boesky Gallery. The New York Times reported that the cause of death was lymphoma.
Born in Malden, Massachusetts, in 1936, Stella rose to prominence in New York in the early 1960s, with his austere “Black Paintings” and irregularly shaped canvases. These early works positioned him as a key figure in post-war art, and the artist was included in influential exhibitions “Sixteen Americans” at MoMA and “Geometric Abstraction” at the Whitney.
Over time, Stella’s oeuvre evolved to include three-dimensional works, experimenting with form and color in bold, geometric fashion. In particular, he is known for his integration of painting and sculpture, which made an indelible contribution to the legacy of minimalism. In 1970, he became the youngest artist to ever have a retrospective at MoMA, at the age of 33.
Stella’s works reside in major museums across the United States, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Hirshhorn, LACMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, SFMOMA, and the Whitney. One of his final pieces, Jacksonville Stacked Stars (2023), currently on view at MOCA Jacksonville, and an exhibition of his recent sculptures is open at Jeffrey Deitch in New York through May 24th. In 2014, Stella joined Marianne Boesky Gallery, which expressed deep gratitude for the collaboration. Boesky noted, “His is a remarkable legacy, and he will be missed.”
