Helen Frankenthaler. Painting Without Rules: The Major Exhibition in Florence Until January 26, 2025
The Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi presents Helen Frankenthaler. Painting Without Rules, an exhibition dedicated to one of the most significant figures of 20th-century American abstract painting. The show explores her artistic research through works created between 1953 and 2002, offering a comprehensive overview of her innovative painting practice.
Helen Frankenthaler (New York, 1928 – Darien, 2011) was a key figure in the second generation of postwar American abstract painters. Although not widely known to the general public, her influence on modern painting is undeniable. Palazzo Strozzi dedicates this retrospective to her, showcasing a selection of works that span nearly fifty years of artistic production.
A Journey Through Painting Without Rules
Organized in collaboration with the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation and curated by Douglas Dreishpoon, director of the Helen Frankenthaler Catalogue Raisonné, the exhibition highlights the artist’s innovative approach. The exhibition path examines the influences and friendships that shaped her career, helping define her unique style.
Frankenthaler is renowned for her soak-stain technique, which involves applying thinned paint onto untreated canvases. This method creates fluid, transparent effects similar to watercolor but on a larger scale and using oil-based colors. The artist applied paint with brushes, sponges, or directly from buckets, allowing the colors to blend naturally. This technique transformed the relationship between space, color, and form, breaking artistic conventions and inspiring generations of painters.
Dialogue Between Artists and Iconic Works
The exhibition presents Frankenthaler’s works alongside those of artists in her circle, including Robert Motherwell, Morris Louis, and Anthony Caro. Highlights include Mediterranean Thoughts (1960) and Tutti-Frutti (1966), alongside paintings, sculptures, and works on paper that showcase the creative synergies of the time.
The exhibition path follows the development of Frankenthaler’s artistic practice, with each room dedicated to a decade of her production, from the 1950s to the early 2000s. The selected works demonstrate how she balanced control and improvisation, integrating elements of abstraction, surrealism, and poetic expression to redefine the boundaries of contemporary painting.
One of the Most Important Retrospectives in Europe
This exhibition is one of the most significant ever dedicated to the artist in Europe and the most comprehensive in Italy. The works come from the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation in New York and prestigious international museums and collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Tate Modern in London, Buffalo AKG Art Museum, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington.
Helen Frankenthaler. Painting Without Rules celebrates an artist who defied painting conventions, expanding the limits of artistic practice with a bold and intuitive vision. Throughout her sixty-year career, she continuously experimented, leaving an indelible mark on contemporary art. Her works continue to inspire and are housed in the collections of major museums and private collectors worldwide.
An Immersive Experience of Art and Discovery
The exhibition is enriched with educational projects and archival materials, allowing visitors to deepen their understanding of Frankenthaler’s life and artistic practice. Documents, photographs, and correspondence with friends and colleagues provide an intimate portrait of the artist and her creative journey.
Tickets and Guided Tours for the Exhibition
Purchase your ticket online and receive it immediately via email to access the exhibition directly, without passing through the ticket office. It is valid for one entry on the selected date and time, every day from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, with extended hours on Thursdays until 11:00 PM.
Palazzo Strozzi also offers two weekly guided tours for individual visitors, led by specialized guides. The tour is free with the purchase of an exhibition ticket, but reservations are required. Tours take place every Monday at 6:00 PM and every Sunday at 3:00 PM.
The exhibition is part of the Equinozio d’Autunno 2024 project, an initiative promoting contemporary art events in Tuscany, coordinated by the Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci.
Stay Near the Exhibition in Our Apartments
Plan your visit to Florence and discover Helen Frankenthaler. Painting Without Rules while staying in one of our nearby apartments:
Dieffe, Domo di Letizia, Leonardo.
cover: sito di Palazzo Strozzi