Frank Stella - Tapa dura

Although based on simple geometries, the Irregular Polygons (1965-66) constitute one of the most complex artistic statements of Frank Stella's career. The eleven compositions combine different numbers of shapes to create daringly irregular outlines. Stella made four versions of each composition, varying the color combinations. They mark a radical shift from the artist's earlier striped works in their use of large fields of color. The asymmetric canvases play with illusion, confronting Stella's previous emphasis on flatness while anticipating his career-long exploration of space and volume in both painting and sculpture. A valuable resource for scholars, curators, and aficionados of modern art, fans and practitioners of the art of painting, and anyone else who enjoys insight into the cultural turning points of the modern age.

BRIAN P. KENNEDY, director of the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, from 2005 to 2010, is now director of the Toledo Museum of Art.