A sweeping overview of poetic compositions from the beloved American postwar painter known for her groundbreaking and inventive approach to abstraction.

Celebrated among the second generation of postwar American abstract painters, Helen Frankenthaler played a pivotal role in the transition from Abstract Expressionism to Color Field painting. Active for more than six decades, Frankenthaler emerged on the American art scene with a no-rules approach to painting and improvisational skills that reshaped the narrative not only for women artists but for the genre itself. 

With her innovative soak-stain technique, Frankenthaler explored a new relationship between color and form, expanding the potential of abstract painting in ways that continue to inspire artists today. 

Painting without Rules examines Frankenthaler’s artistic affinities, influences and friendships by interweaving paintings created between 1953 and 2002 with select works by some of her contemporaries including Robert Motherwell, Kenneth Noland, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Anne Truitt.

Hardcover, 240 pages, 2024.

11.5 x 9.5 in.