Helen Frankenthaler
Beginnings, 2002
Silkscreen on handmade paper
37 x 36 in
94 x 91.4 cm
62/126
Signed, numbered and dated
Available at VFA
A really good picture looks as if it’s happened once. It’s an immediate image. - Helen Frankenthaler.
The museum of Modern Art has put together an exhibition of the works of Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011), that explores her continual exploration of varied medium and techniques.
Frankenthaler’s soak-stain technique, of pouring diluted oil paint on unprimed canvas, gained her much attention and admiration in the art world in the 1950s. The large color-fields that she created had a profound influence on other painters.
Abstract Expressionists often attributed their works to the subconscious and to spontaneity, Frankenthaler was inspired by natural landscapes.
She was one of the first artists to use water based acrylic paint, which had become commercially available in the 1950s. She went on to experiment with printing techniques and was able to capture the feel and freedom of her unique style with wood block prints and silkscreens. Beginnings, 2002, available at VFA, is an example of Frankenthaler’s ability to combine her masterful printmaking skills and color field artistry.
Helen Frankenthlaer: A Grand Sweep, on view from November 18, 2025 through February 8, 2026, and will include works from MoMA’s collection that Frankenthaler produced over several decades.
Alex Katz was honored on November 11 at Lincoln Center by The Paul Taylor Dance Foundation. The Gala celebrated Katz’s collaboration with Paul Taylor that began in the 1960s.
For more than twenty-five years, Katz and Taylor worked together to produce more than sixteen works.
The Company performed Sunset at the gala, a work that Katz conceived of when he was in Madrid and saw soldiers flirting with young women in Retiro Park. The ballet was first performed in 1983, a dance of both hope and sorrow.
“I learned a lot from Paul in terms of gestures and relationships between people,” Katz wrote. “I learned from Paul that all your pieces don’t have to be the same. And I learned from Paul never to be complacent toward the public. The one person you don’t want to bore is yourself.”
Alex Katz paintings of dancers, from the Colby Museum of Art in Maine, are currently on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego and will be traveling to the Wichita Art Museum in Kansas, where they will be on exhibit from January 31, 2026 through May 10, 2026. A variety of Katz’s paintings will be on exhibit at Kunsthalle in Tübingen, Germany from March 28, 2026 through September 13 2026.
A collection of Surrealist works is making its only U.S. stop at the Philadelphia Art Museum. The exhibit has been on exhibit in Brussels, Paris, Hamburg and Madrid.
Dali’s sculpture, Aphrodisiac Telephone, with a lobster resting on the cradle of an old rotary phone, is included in the exhibit.
Dreamworld: Surrealism at 100 will be on view at the Philadelphia Art Museum through February 16, 2026.
Although Dali is best known for his paintings, he was also a sculptor and master printmaker. Fleurs Surrealistes, 1980 is available at VFA.
Please contact us if you would like more information about the works of Helen Frankenthaler, Alex Katz and Salvador Dali available at VFA.
References:
Daniel Cassidy. Paul Taylor Gala to Honor Alex Katz, Painter Who Made Movement Appear Still. Artnews. October 31, 2025.
Andrew Russeth and Jillian Steinhauer. Art Gallery Shows to See in November. The New York Times. November 10, 2025.
Kristin Hunt. Philadelphia Art Museum exhibit on surrealism features monsters from Greek mythology and a lobster telephone. Philly Voice. November 6, 2025.
