Frank Stella's Inspirations

Inspiration is everywhere and, for Frank Stella (1936-2024), it came in the form of blankets woven by Diné women in the the late 19th and early 20th century.

 

Stella began collecting the blankets in the mid-1960s. He was introduced to the textiles by artist Donald Judd, who was also a collector of the works.

 

Diné, which means ‘the people” are members of the Navajo Nation.  The bold colors and minimalist designs of the Diné textiles are similar to those used by Stella in many of his works.

 

In a recent interview with Hyperallergic, Stella’s widow, Dr. Harriet McGurk, said, “He would wrap himself up in one in the living room when it was cold, and we hung another up in our house, but they were not on display to other people,”

 

“ What Frank admired so much,” McGurk said, “was the workmanship and the artists who made them, because their sense of geometry resonated a lot with him,” McGurk continued. “They were just so natural and so direct, but really inspired. Frank liked more of the design, the look, the feel, and the idea of the person who made it, rather than the condition.”

 

Stella’s collection of forty weavings is currently on exhibit, and some available for sale, at Peter Pap gallery in Dublin, New Hampshire through July 7th.

 

Stella was also inspired by his name: Stella means Star in Italian. Many of the sculptures that he completed in the last decade of his life are shaped like stars.

 

One of last sculptures that Stella created was installed in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Jacksonville last month. The three-story-high sculpture, Stacked Stars, celebrates the 100th anniversary of the museum, which is part of Arts UNF at the University of North Florida. 

 

---

 

David Hockney, one of the world’s most admired artists, died on June 11, at his home in London. He was 88.

 

 

Hockney was born in Bradford, Yorkshire in 1937. He received honors from the Royal Academy at graduation and he became a rising star in the British art world.

 

He traveled to California in 1964, and was taken by its light and lifestyle; it was more comfortable for Hockeny to be a gay man, and a smoker, in the U.S. at that time, than in England. He taught at the University of California, Los Angeles, painted swimming pools and friends, and his friends in swimming pools…and the rest is history.

 

Hockney became one of the world’s most revered artists during his sixty year career. He is survived by his partner, Jean-Pierre Gonçalves de Lima, and his brothers Philip and John.

 

---

 

Please contact us if you would like more information about the work of Frank Stella available at Surovek Gallery.

 

---

 

June 18, 2026