The marriage of reason and poverty

The Museum of Modern Art, New York, the USA.

Enamel on canvas.

The work is included in the famous Stella’s series entitled “Black Pictures”. The cycle turned over the idea of fine art with its simplicity and the absence of any meanings. Almost the entire canvas is covered with black paint, which the artist applied with a wide brush in several layers so that the surface is as even as possible. Thin light stripes of the unpainted canvas are evenly placed over the entire surface, creating a strict geometric pattern and rhythmic pulsation. In 1959, this work and three other “black” paintings were included in the main exhibition of the New York Museum of Modern Art, “Sixteen Americans,” which featured selected works by contemporary modernist artists.