NAPLES, FLA.- Artis—Naples, home of The Baker Museum and the Naples Philharmonic, today announced the September 6 opening of Helen Frankenthaler: Late Works, 1990-2003, a landmark presentation of the artist’s innovative work that serves as the anchor for the museum’s fall exhibition season.

“This fall, The Baker Museum presents a truly significant slate of exhibitions to launch the 2022-23 season,” said CEO and President Kathleen van Bergen. “From a landmark exhibition of the late works of Helen Frankenthaler to stunning multimedia installations by Korean-born artist Ran Hwang, and to the deeply impactful drawings of Mauricio Lasansky chronicling the horrors of the Holocaust, The Baker Museum offers visitors an opportunity to experience thought-provoking works by a range of artists.”

“We are very proud of the range of excellence this season represents, and we are very honored to be one of the first museums to present an incredibly important exhibition of Helen Frankenthaler’s late works, which explores how she continued to evolve her technique, materials and tools throughout her lifetime,” said Museum Director and Chief Curator Courtney McNeil. “Envisioning Evil: “The Nazi Drawings” by Mauricio Lasansky, over 50 years after the series’ original tour, is its first comprehensive presentation in a generation. And we are delighted to be mounting the first large-scale presentation of the work of Ran Hwang in the southeastern part of the country.”

Helen Frankenthaler: Late Works, 1990-2003
September 6 through November 27, 2022

The innovative and experimental soak-stain paintings of Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011) established her as one of the great artists of the 20th century. This exhibition, on loan from the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, is the first museum exhibition dedicated to the last phase of the painter’s prolific career and features 20 paintings on paper and 10 paintings on canvas.

Frankenthaler played a defining role in the history of postwar American painting. Her innovative soak-stain technique inaugurated the shift from Abstract Expressionism to Color Field painting and influenced artists such as Morris Louis, Jules Olitski, Friedel Dzubas and Kenneth Noland. In Louis’ words, Frankenthaler’s work was “a bridge between [Jackson] Pollock and what was possible.” The works on view in this exhibition demonstrate Frankenthaler’s long-standing interest in the relationship between landscape and abstraction and reveal her continued sensitivity to the emotional effects of color.

Helen Frankenthaler: Late Works, 1990-2003 is curated by Douglas Dreishpoon, Director of the Helen Frankenthaler Catalogue Raisonné and Chief Curator Emeritus at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York, with all loans from the collection of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation. The presentation of the exhibition at The Baker Museum is curated by Courtney McNeil, museum director and chief curator. In-kind support has been provided by the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation.