Frank Stella, Pergusa Three, from the Circuits Series, 1983

Artist: Frank Stella (1936 - )
Title:Pergusa Three, from the Circuits Series, 1983
Reference:Axsom 143
Series:Circuits Series 1982-1984
Medium:Relief, woodcut on white TGL handmade, hand-colored paper
Image Size:66 in x 52 in (167.6 cm x 132.1 cm)
Sheet Size:66 in x 52 in (167.6 cm x 132.1 cm)
Edition:Numbered from the edition of 30 in pencil in the lower right image.
Signature:This work is hand-signed by Frank Stella (Massachusetts, 1936 - ) in pencil in the lower right image.
Condition:This work is in excellent condition.
ID #W-7076

Historical Description

Frank Stella Pergusa Three, 1983 is a fascinating composition in white, black, red, green, blue and yellow from the artist’s Circuits Series of 1982-84. This work is an illustration of the Pergusa race track in Italy, one of the race tracks Stella visited across the globe in the 1970s. The foreground of this work is composed of several layers of contours rendered in saturated hues, the largest of which is a thick red form that runs from the bottom center of the composition upwards and nearly touches the top edge of the work. Smaller and more complex lines dance alongside this shape, and they sit atop a black background that mimics the texture of wood. The printmaking methods used to create Pergusa Three, from the Circuits Series, 1983, namely relief printing and woodcutting, allow the artist to maintain drawing-like and painterly marks that add profundity to the Circuits Series.

Frank Stella Pergusa Three, 1983 is part of a portfolio of 16 works in the artist’s Circuits Series from 1982-84. This body of work is inspired by his interest in race tracks that he visited all over the world. Also featured in this portfolio are Talladega Three I, Talladega Three II, Talladega Three III, Talladega Five I, Estoril Three II, Estoril Five I, Estoril Five II, Imola Three I, Imola Three II, Imola Three II, State I, Imola Three IV, Imola Five II, Imola Five II, State I, Pergusa Three, State I, and Pergusa Three Double.

Created in 1982, this relief and woodcut on white TGL handmade, hand-colored paper is hand-signed by Frank Stella (Massachusetts, 1936 - ) in pencil in the lower right image and numbered from the edition of 30 in pencil in the lower right image.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:

Frank Stella Pergusa Three, from the Circuits Series, 1983 is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the sale of the work).

  1. Axsom, Richard. The Prints of Frank Stella: A Catalogue Raisonné 1967–1984. Hudson Hills Press: New York, 1983. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 143 on pg. 234.
  2. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this artwork.

About the Framing:

Framed to museum-grade, conservation standards, Frank Stella Pergusa Three,  from the Circuits Series, 1983 is presented in a complementary moulding and finished with silk-wrapped mats and optical grade Plexiglas.