1967

Turkish Mambo

American, 1936 - 2024

In this lithograph, part of a series, Stella returned to eight of his important stripe paintings of 1959-60. Rather than make exact copies, he altered his compositions to emphasize the unique qualities of the chosen print medium. He reduced the number of stripes in the paintings to avoid miniaturization of scale, drew directly on the lithographic plate with a greasy crayon to achieve a crumbled texture and soft edges, and placed the images in the lower left of the sheet to actively involve the blank areas of paper in the composition. The sequential nature of prints issued in portfolios complements Stella's use of serial imagery, which he employs to investigate specific formal problems.