Helen Frankenthaler at Gagosian Gallery

Helen Frankenthaler: After Abstract Expressionism, 1959 – 1962
Gagosian Gallery (Paris)
June 9 – September 16, 2017

“ There are no rules. Let the picture lead you where it must go.”

— Helen Frankenthaler

Bark Frameworks Design Director Eric Knutzon recently worked with the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation to frame artworks for “Helen Frankenthaler: After Abstract Expressionism, 1959 – 1962” at Gagosian Paris. The show, on view through mid-Sept. 2017, was comprised mainly of large acrylic paintings on canvas, oils on canvas, and acrylic on paper. Some of the works demonstrated the more gestural style Frankenthaler adopted in the late 1950s (moving away from the “soak stain” technique she had developed previously); others were more quiet, with swaths of canvas left blank by the artist. Several of the works had not been exhibited to the public since the 1960s.

In designing the frames for Frankenthaler’s paintings and works on paper, Eric Knutzon took the size, medium, and content of each artwork into consideration. He chose to create maple frames for the artworks. The frames for the largescale paintings were finished with a stain and wax we have used when designing frames previously for Frankenthaler’s works and shows. The frames designed for Frankenthaler’s works on paper featured a white rub finish.

As can be seen in the photos above, the framing treatment for these bold yet nuanced artworks does not distract from the works at all, but rather offsets them, so that the colors and textures come forward to meet the viewer, enhancing the visual experience.