Palazzo Strozzi presents the most extensive retrospective ever held in Italy dedicated to Helen Frankenthaler.
Palazzo Strozzi in Florence is hosting Painting without Rules, the largest retrospective in Italy dedicated to the influential American artist Helen Frankenthaler. Running from September 27, 2024, to January 26, 2025, the exhibition offers a comprehensive look at Frankenthaler’s career, placing her works in conversation with those of contemporaries like Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Robert Motherwell.
The exhibition spans her artistic journey from the 1950s to the early 2000s, showcasing her large canvases, works on paper, and sculptures. Loans from prestigious institutions like the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Tate Modern, and the National Gallery of Art, make this an extraordinary display of Frankenthaler’s innovations.
Known for her soak-stain technique, which involves applying diluted paint to unprimed canvas, Frankenthaler transformed the way color, form, and space interacted in abstract art. This technique gave her paintings a fluid, watercolor-like quality that redefined the boundaries of expression, influencing the Color Field movement and inspiring future generations of artists.
Painting without Rules highlights not only Frankenthaler’s individual genius but also the connections between her work and the broader artistic movements of the 20th century. By juxtaposing her paintings with those of her contemporaries, the exhibition reveals the shared synergies and revolutionary spirit that shaped this era of modern art.
Visitors will step into Frankenthaler’s creative universe—a space of poetic abstraction, freedom, and innovation that continues to resonate in today’s artistic world.
Until 26 January 2025
Palazzo Strozzi
Daily 10.00 to 20.00
Thursdays until 23.00
Full €16, Reduced €13
