PROJECT ATRIUM: Frank Stella
Jacksonville Stacked Stars
February 29 – November 3, 2024
Project Atrium: Frank Stella, "Jacksonville Stacked Stars", Installation view. February 29 - November 3, 2024. Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville.
This monumental installation was created for MOCA's Atrium Gallery to celebrate the museum's 100th anniversary and features a brand new work of sculpture by Frank Stella (1936-2024), one of the most influential contemporary artists of his time.
Frank Stella produced an extraordinary body of work over the past six decades. Since his first solo gallery exhibition at Leo Castelli Gallery in 1960, when he presented his famous “Black Paintings”, Stella has continuously explored the possibilities of the expression of visual space. Initial paintings based on the rejection of the conventionally rectangular canvas, and of painting-as-representation, gave way to complex wall reliefs made from paint, cardboard, and felt. He further blurred the distinction between painting and sculpture in baroque works that seemed to leap off the wall. Most recently, Stella used digital modeling to explore how subtle changes in scale, color and material can affect our perception and experience of the free-standing object.
The Project Atrium installation is accompanied by an exhibition of prints from the MOCA collection, with loans from local collectors. Frank Stella began his extended engagement with printmaking in the mid-1960s, working first with master printer Kenneth Tyler at the famed workshop Gemini G.E.L. in Los Angeles, CA. This pioneering studio brought together artists, such as Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein and Jasper Johns who, like Stella, were interested in investigating the creative opportunities offered by prints and multiples.
SPONSORS
Opening Celebration Recap
MOCA AT 100
MOCA Jacksonville celebrates its centennial in 2024, as the oldest art museum in the region and one of the first contemporary art museums to be established in the United States. This celebration year is an opportunity for MOCA to give back to the community that has been its home for a century by presenting groundbreaking exhibitions and programs that will engage the community and elevate Jacksonville as a regional destination for arts and culture. Your support is vital to making these plans a reality. We hope that you will join us in celebrating this momentous occasion for MOCA and for Jacksonville. Learn More >>
IN THE MEDIA
The New York Times
Frank Stella, Towering Artist and Master of Reinvention, Dies at 87
He moved American art away from Abstract Expressionism toward cool minimalism. His explorations of color and form were endlessly discussed and constantly on exhibit.... Read More >>
CNN
Renowned American artist Frank Stella dies aged 87
By and
Stella continued to create art well into his ninth decade, with his some of his recent sculptures being displayed at the Jeffrey Deitch Gallery in New York City. One of his final pieces is still on display in Florida at the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville.... Read More >>
The Florida Times-Union
First look: Soaring Frank Stella sculpture unveiled at MOCA Jacksonville's Project Atrium
By Corey Perrine
Jacksonville Stacked Stars, a sculpture by Frank Stella, is shown during an unveiling ceremony and preview event... See More >>
ARBUS
The Arts and Business Magazine of Northeast Florida
Project Atrium: Frank Stella Jacksonville Stacked Stars
by Amber Sesnick, MOCA Communications and Marketing Director
Frank Stella has produced an extraordinary body of work over the past six decades and continues to explore the expressive possibilities of visual space. “Jacksonville Stacked Stars” is a brand-new work of art created by Stella for the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Jacksonville’s Project Atrium... Read More >>
ArtRKL
Frank Stella
by Rosella Parra
In February 2024, three months before [Frank Stella] died on May 4, 2024, his final piece of art was featured and presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Jacksonville, Florida. Stella’s final piece was an installation focusing on his iconic motifs of shapes and stars. It was Stella’s last love letter and contribution to the art world... Read More >>
In MOCA's Permanent Collection
MOCA Jacksonville has several Frank Stella works in its permanent collection, and is excited to be featuring a new and monumental work as part of its Project Atrium series.
