Although widely known for her iconic “soak-stain” canvases, Helen Frankenthaler (1928–2011) was an equally inventive printmaker who took risks in a medium not frequently explored by abstract expressionists. Fluid Expressions: The Prints of Helen Frankenthaler highlights the artist’s often-overlooked, yet highly original and whimsical print production.
Drawn from the collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and his Family Foundation, this exhibition includes more than 25 prints made from a diverse range of techniques, including lithographs, etchings, aquatints, screen prints, and woodcuts. The artist’s adaptation of her “soak-stain” aesthetic for the graphic medium offers a stunning look at how printmaking—notorious for being a slow, methodical process—can exude a sense of spontaneity and immediacy. From splattered pigments to translucent layers of ink, the radiant prints brought together here pulse with creative energy.
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