Frank Stella, A Squeeze of the Hand, from the Waves Series, 1988 |
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| Artist: | Frank Stella (1936 - 2024) |
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| Title: | A Squeeze of the Hand (From the Waves Series), 1988 |
| Series: | The Waves |
| Medium: | Color Screen Print, Lithograph and Linocut with Hand-Coloring, Marbling and Collage |
| Image Size: | 73 in x 54 5/8 in (185.4 cm x 138.7 cm) |
| Sheet Size: | 73 in x 54 5/8 in (185.4 cm x 138.7 cm) |
| Framed Size: | approx. 84 in x 65 in (213.36 cm x 154.1) |
| Edition: | Inscribed “P.P. III” in pencl in the lower left image; aside from the numbered edition of 60, plus 10 artist's proofs. Published by Waddington Graphics, London, printed by Spencer Tomkins. |
| Signature: | This work is hand-signed by Frank Stella (Massachusetts, 1936 - New York, 2024) in pencil in the lower left image. |
| Condition: | This work is in excellent condition. |
| ID # | W-6383 |
Frank Stella’s A Squeeze of the Hand (From the Waves Series), 1988 is part of an ongoing effort by Stella interpret and transform Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. In Stella’s “Wave” series, he interprets the classic novel “Moby Dick” through his abstract and imaginative style. A Squeeze of the Hand, 1988 is titled after a chapter within the novel in which the protagonist Ishmael has a transcendent experience upon seeing a captured whale.
Paying homage to this wondrous scene, Stella saturates the artwork with bright hues of red, orange and gold. White cut-out shapes and sinous dark lies enhance the textural quality of this work. We are wondrously taken away from geometric reality into a world of colorful abstraction. It is as if the entire image is in motion, a representation of the narrative complexities which shape Moby Dick. The cut out shapes seemingly depict the well-known drama, a quality which is accessible even to those who have never read Melville’s novel. Overall, the shapes take on a life of their own, granting themselves to the free visual interpretation of the viewer.
Created in 1988, this color screen print, lithograph and linocut with hand-coloring, marbling and collage is hand signed and dated by Frank Stella (Massachusetts, 1936 - New York, 2024) in pencil in the lower left and inscribed “P.P. III” in the lower left of the image; aside from the numbered edition of 60, plus 10 artist's proofs. Published by Waddington Graphics, London, printed by Spencer Tomkins.
Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
Frank Stella A Squeeze of the Hand (From the Waves Series), 1988 is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnès and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the final sale of the work).
1. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this work.
About the Framing:
Framed to museum-grade conservation standards, Frank Stella A Squeeze of the Hand (From the Waves Series), 1988 is presented in a complementary moulding with silk mats and optical-grade Plexiglas.
Subject Matter: Contemporary
