Frank Stella, Shards Variant IVa, 1982

Artist: Frank Stella (1936 - )
Title:Shards Variant IVa, 1982
Reference:Axsom 151
Series:Shards
Medium:Color Lithograph and Screenprint on 320 Gram Arches paper
Image Size:45 1/2 in x 39 3/4 in (115.6 x 101)
Sheet Size:45 1/2 in x 39 3/4 in (115.6 x 101)
Framed Size:approx. 53 3/4 in x 48 1/4 in (136.5 cm x 122.6 cm)
Edition:Numbered from the edition of 49 in pencil in the lower right image.
Signature:This work is hand-signed and dated by Frank Stella (Malden,1936 - ) in pencil in the lower right image.
Condition:This work is in excellent condition.
ID #W-6775

Historical Description

Frank Stella Shards Variant IVa, 1982 is a mesmerizing artwork, an extraordinary and accomplished effort by this important American abstract artist.  Organic shapes are intermixed with rectangles and sharp angles in this work, merging together to provide a world of maximal abstraction which Frank Stella has honed in on in his later oeuvre. While the outlines are precise, even and crisp, Stella embraces expressive and dense scribbles to fill the multitude of forms. The majority of the limited palette employed in this compelling work is composed of complementary blues and oranges. Despite Stella’s complex visual language, Frank Stella Shards Variant IVa, 1982 is unified by the intricate grid and painterly marks which form the background of the piece.  To create this beautifully layered image, Stella utilized 44 runs from 37 lithographic aluminum plates and 2 silkscreens.

Created in 1982, Frank Stella Shards Variant IVa, 1982 is a color lithograph and screenprint on 320 gram Arches paper. Hand signed and dated by Frank Stella (Malden, 1936 - ) in pencil in the lower right margin, this work is numbered from the edition of 49. This work is a variant of Shards I, 1982 which was editioned in different colors, utilizing the same printing elements.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
Frank Stella Shards Variant IVa, 1982 fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnès and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the final sale of the work).

1. Axsom, Richard H. The Prints of Frank Stella: A Catalogue Raisonné. New York: Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation, 2016. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 151.
2. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this artwork.

About the Framing:
Framed to museum-grade conservation standards, Frank Stella Shards Variant IVa, 1982 is presented in a complementary moulding and optical-grade Plexiglas.