Southern Exposure 2005

Helen Frankenthaler’s abstract painting uses color and form to evoke emotional and sensory experiences, moving beyond traditional representational art. Frankenthaler came of age during the rise of second-wave feminism, at a time when women pushed for equality and recognition in all spheres of life. The painting is a wash of color, but it is not without structure. The blocks of color, the yellow, the pink, and the green, create a landscape. In her work, Frankenthaler often explored landscapes as emotional spaces, somewhere between memory and imagination. Frankenthaler, who was raised in New York City, also made work which references nature. When asked about nature, she says, ‘It’s not exactly painting the trees, rocks, and sky…it’s painting the space between things.’ Frankenthaler's abstract language offers a space for viewers to reflect on their own encounters with nature and memory. Her work captures the feelings associated with places, and her abstraction invites personal interpretation.