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$15; Free for members of The Aldrich and The Glass House

On the occasion of Frank Stella’s Stars, on view at the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, join art historian Robert Hobbs for a talk about Stella’s artistic development and his place in art history by examining the artist’s works from the Aldrich exhibition and the collection of  The Glass House.

Robert Hobbs is an art historian and curator specializing in twentieth- and twenty-first century art. His two extended essays on Frank Stella were first published by the Singapore Tyler Print Institute; they were revised for the London catalogue Frank Stella: Connections, published by Hatje Cantz. Dr. Hobbs has written over fifty books and major catalogues on topics ranging from Edward Hopper to Abstract Expressionism, Earth Art, and Post-Modernism. He served as Associate Professor at Cornell University, long-time visiting professor at Yale University, and the Rhoda Thalhimer Endowed Chair of American Art Emeritus, VCU.

Frank Stella’s Stars, A Survey spans the Sculpture Garden and galleries of The Aldrich tracing Stella’s singular use of the star, standing out as a stable and immediately identifiable shape in the midst of a complex tangle of abstract, invented forms that the artist has utilized over his long career. The historical arc of Stella’s use of the form travels from minimal (the early star paintings) to the maximal, with the recent star sculptures frequently exhibiting a corruption of the form as well as a diversity of materials and fabrication techniques. The exhibition is curated by Richard Klein, Exhibitions Director, and Amy Smith-Stewart, Senior Curator.

Glass House Presents is an ongoing series of talks, performances, and other live events that extend the site’s historic role as a gathering place for artists, architects, and other creative minds. This event is co-hosted by New Canaan Library and supported in part by Connecticut Humanities and the New Canaan Community Foundation.