Frankenthaler at Dulwich Picture Gallery

It has been a while since I last posted, life has intervened as it often does.  I finally made it to see a show and was moved sufficiently by it to write a blog.  As with many of my blog posts this will be most helpful in that by the time it is published the show will have either finished or almost finished.

The show is Helen Frankenthaler at the Dulwich Picture Gallery (https://www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/.

Dulwich is an excellent gallery, being only cursed by being (for most people) difficult to get to.  It is set in the idyllic surroundings of Dulwich Village with its parks, large houses and plush spaces.  The gallery itself was the first bespoke art gallery in Britain.  Its permanent collection is excellent (Rubens being prominent) and so I highly recommend you go in any event.

It has been hosting since September 2021 a show of the artist Helen Frankenthaler.  The show finishes on 17th April (see what I mean?).  I had not heard of Frankenthaler before but numerous people raved about the show and encouraged me to go.  I have relatives near by so summoned them to the gallery and we went together.

It is, excellent.  The show is of Frankenthaler’s wood block prints.  Unlike most other wood block prints (or indeed in my case all other wood block prints I have seen) these are abstract.  Areas of soft and deep colours overlayed on each other to create these peaceful and dreamlike patterns.  What is also great is that in most of them you can see the woodgrain of the printing blocks, in the painting which adds and extra texture and dimension.

The other element about this show that I really liked was that it showed various different versions (or proofs as they are titled) of the same piece as Frankenthaler worked towards the finished article.  These are fascinating. It is interesting to see an artist’s process and how they develop an idea, go one way and then go back.  Sometimes I preferred some of the earlier proofs to the finished article as with Savage Breeze.

On one of them “Essence Mulberry” there are pencil annotations from Frankenthaler to the printer with alterations and comments which would be very interesting if they were not mostly completely baffling.

She would also riff on a theme producing a number of different related works on the same subject, Tales of Genji being the main one on display.  My favourite of these was Tales of Genji V, which has a sort of portal like structure in the middle surrounded by what appears to me to be two indistinct figures peering at it.  The colour contrast between the deep blue of the back ground and the soft tan and pink of the foreground really does it for me.

Many of the works reminded me of Alistair Gordon’s work and if you like Frankenthaler you will like him.  

One of the things I found inspiring about this exhibition was the tale of co-operation it gives.  This is not just Frankenthaler’s work.  She worked with printers and wood block cutters to achieve the pieces and the description of how they interacted made me want something similar in my art.  It caused several such ideas to come bubbling up.

The exhibition culminates with a display of one of Frankethaler’s later works, the large and magnificent Madame Butterfly. It is produced using a breath-taking 102 woodcuts to produce the final piece.  Again you can see early drafts on display but in this case I think the final work is the best. 

This then is an excellent show.  Interesting both intellectually in terms of seeing an artist’s process at work and how they worked with others, and artistically in that it looks amazing.  Also look out for the Monet X Frankenthaler room in the main gallery.  That I found absorbing.  For me the best art sets off an ASMR type reaction in me, and this certainly did that.

I shall however end this post on a rant.  The curator here copped for one of what I consider to be the worst sins in labelling of the work in that they would, too often, tell me what I should be feeling and what the work means.  No.  That is for me to decide not you to tell me.  They did not always do this.  The best labelling tells you 1) what the work is made of 2) when and how it was made and 3) what the artist was trying to do (although 3 is optional and needs to be handled with care). 

I do not need and frankly resent being told what various marks mean etc.  It shows a lack of confidence in the work that people feel the need to do this.  Put it up and let it speak for itself.  If people need a label to relate to it then the art work has, for them, failed.  Do you agree?