For example, in this exhibition, some of the sculptures come from material left over from five or six years ago, from models that have come into play now. The result of making so many models is that I make a lot of things after the commission has been completed. The model is merely an idea and I overproduce models. The work it requires is not just in reproducing the model. So I do the big commission and it is what it is: sometimes good and sometimes not so good. The big commission, particularly if it involves sculpture, generates a tremendous amount of work. I also feel I am wasting too much energy getting the work.Įach commission involves a lot of things that don’t come off and noncommissioned work? Well, I am getting older, but I am staying relatively healthy and I have the energy to work. Technically and physically, you seem in a mood to do almost anything. I feel I have a lot of things I can do, if I get around to it. Yet I must say that, terrible as it is to make the proposals, I get to make marvels and the ideas come. Instead of working on big projects, I have to make so many proposals. We make so many proposals and so few come to fruition. I would say that to get one out of ten is a fantastic accomplishment. You have to do a lot of work in order to land one? I have commissions, but they represent such a small part of the number that I propose in order to get one. Yes, but they are pretty hard to come by they waste an awful lot of time. The dealers have gone, but the commissions have not disappeared. This is a typical show, but I leave it to you to predict how many of my pieces will be sold.Ī lot of people are going to buy something.īut we are not talking about what used to be the case for me and a lot of artists: the sellout category. I cannot make work for collectors because it seems, although price might be part of the reason, it is really a matter of the scale. I’m saying that I’m not able to function as a normal gallery artist much any more. What do you mean when you say that the galleries have gone? I’m out there hassling to keep going, but I do not really fit into the hard world. I actually grew up in a different generation and they are all gone now. Larry Rubin is retired Leo Castelli is gone. The dealers have disappeared: I have outgrown or outlived the dealers. The Art Newspaper spoke to him about his career and his artistic concerns.Ĭan we start by talking about new and current jobs? You seem to be fantastically busy.įrank Stella Well, yes and no, I am busy because I have a relationship now with Bernard and because I am on my own, in a way. In 1983-84 he gave the Charles Eliot Norton lectures at Harvard University, called “Working space” (published under the same title by Harvard in 1985) in which he commended baroque and other painting for its poetic, as well as constructive, use of space and volume. In the 1970s he turned to making reliefs and these have recently become more spirited and complicated. Frank Stella made his reputation from 1959 with striped monochrome paintings, on shaped canvases, then in metallic hues and, later, in bright colours, exploring a wide range of geometrical configurations. The exhibition consists of large metal sculptures, much larger than some he has made in recent years, but smaller than those commissioned for sites around the world, notably in France and Germany. Frank Stella was in London for the installation and opening of his exhibition (until 15 August) at the Bernard Jacobson Gallery.