Helen Frankenthaler was an American abstract expressionist painter who is known for her contributions with American post-war paintings. This exhibit, Sea Change: A Decade of Paintings, 1974–1983, was on display at the Gagosian gallery in Rome last summer. This exhibit displays Helen’s works from her time spent at her house in Shippan Point, CT with a view of the Long Island Sound. Her abstract works “reflect her responses to the changing appearance of the wide vistas and moving tides.”

These large paintings all have a presence of their own and are very different. She had an interesting way of shaping and blending the paint on the canvas. No harsh transitions of colors make for a soothing sight. You feel like you are looking at a screen from the ocean. 

This is exhibition is one that I found randomly. I saw pleasure in the color choices and the way that the color was applied.  You could tell that her colors were inspired from nature. The thing that I really enjoy is how her colors are cleanly applied and create a beautiful composition with large sections of color that have a way of activating the canvas. To me they all feel like colors and shapes that you would find in an area that meets a large body of water.

Thanks for reading and if you’d like to learn more about the exhibit, click here!