On View
On viewObject number1979/80.82
Code Blue
Artist
Helen Frankenthaler
(American, 1928-2011)
Date1980
Mediumacrylic on canvas
Dimensionsframe: 6 ft. 8 1/4 in. × 14 ft. 3 1/4 in. × 2 3/8 in. (203.8 × 435 × 6 cm)
image: 6 ft. 7 1/4 in. × 14 ft. 2 1/4 in. (201.3 × 432.4 cm)
image: 6 ft. 7 1/4 in. × 14 ft. 2 1/4 in. (201.3 × 432.4 cm)
Credit LineNational Endowment for the Arts Matching Museum Grant and donation from anonymous donor
Exhibition HistoryOn loan to the Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN (June 11, 1997 - Aug. 14, 1998).
"Art and the American Experience," KIA (Sept. 13 - Dec. 6, 1998).
"Lasting Legacy: A Collection for Kalamazoo," Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo, Michigan (Sep. 6, 2014 - Jan. 4, 2015).
"Unveiling American Genius," KIA Permanent Collection Exhibition, Traditional, Markin, Nay and Groos Galleries (March 1, 2021 - December 31, 2023).Label TextHelen Frankenthaler used this immense, color-washed canvas to evoke a mood or emotion in the viewer. This painting was created on the floor of her studio with large brushes, mops, brooms, and buckets. Frankenthaler challenged traditional painting techniques using thin washes of paint juxtaposed with clumps of pigment. Her absorbent, unprimed canvases allowed the layers of paint to soak into the picture surface. Code Blue’s bluish-green stains provide a murky depth that absorbs and contains us.
