Stella, Frank (1968). Damascus Gate Stretch Variation [acrylic on canvas]. Collection Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. © 2008 Frank Stella/ARS, NY.

A pleasing, rhythmic non-objective pattern of roman arches (if everything below the springings were cropped) that confuse field and ground. Interest is created with variations in hue, value and color intensity. | 

The content of this work might be architectural innovations from a time period when the title location was one of the major cultural centers of the western world. It is rendered with acrylic on canvas. Repeated, intermingled half-circles are the spatial elements that comprise this work. They are arranged in horizontal motion and oriented as upright or vertically reflected, creating directional tension. The lateral character of these elements and the way they interlock create a pleasing rippling sense of rhythm. The varied manipulation of all color dimensions effectively creates interest. The color strategy is simply what the work calls for, and I cannot identify it as a dogmatic, conventional one. 

Spatial order is ambiguous, but not distractingly so. Elements overlap, bisect and interpenetrate resulting in depth that feels highly decorative. Pictorial balance is approximately symmetrical and secondary to the elemental treatment that carries the message of this work. This work employs crisp edges, stroke width and shape type with nearly absolute uniformity. There is an intuitive mix of bright, dull and intermediate colors and values, representing the balance this work possesses. The strongest, most pleasing contrast is how Stella plays straight-edged shapes against curved ones.

Due to the limited use of dense value, eye movement starts with the heavily cropped green arch, followed by the nearly-intact red one. The architectural shape element not only builds this work, it defines its boundaries, a strategy rarely seen in fine art. Stella expertly calibrates elemental ratios to create order (shape, stroke width, edge definition) and tension (all dimensions of color, spatial ambiguity). The picture plane, color strategy and color strategy are absolutely subordinate to this sense of balance and tension. This work is harmonious yet exquisitely interesting, a hallmark of artistic unity.