ON VIEW

Frank Stella’s Sinjerli Variation II is derived from the artist’s original painting titled Sinjerli I of his infamous Protractor series (1967-1970). In the late 1960s, Stella began to gradually vary the color, material, and shape of his paintings, pushing the boundaries of the two-dimensional canvas. His Protractor series built upon these explorations in color and shape. With bold, colorful palettes, the series marked a creative turning point for the Minimalist artist; until then, Stella was known for his muted “Black Paintings” composed of monochromatic stripes and rectilinear shapes. 

Each Sinjerli variation consists of two semi-circles resembling the shape of a protractor. The title Sinjerli refers to the name of an Ancient Turkish city which reached its height in the 14th century BC. The fortified citadel of Sinjerli was outlined by a perfectly symmetrical double walled circle. Though Stella completed his ninety-third and final Protractor painting in 1970, he continued to create series inspired by the shape of the drafting tool, including the hand stitched tapestry variation on view. Stella began producing shaped canvases that opened up new possibilities for what pictorial structures could be. Rather than serving as neutral supports, the canvas and stretcher bars became an essential part of the image. The circular Sinjerli Variation II pushes this a step further, revealing the design on a hand stitched Aubusson tapestry.