Frank Stella "Merce Cunningham Dance Company- Latin America Tour 68" signed

Frank Stella
"Merce Cunningham & Dance Company- Latin America Tour 68"

Lithographic Poster 1968 (Signed by Merce Cunningham)
66cm × 122 cm 26in × 48in
 
This is an iconic 1968 poster by Frank Stella for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company Latin American Tour 1968, the poster is also signed by the famous dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham.

Known as the father of modern dance, Merce Cunningham is hailed as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. During his prolific 70-year career, he created more than 150 choreographic works for himself and his company that revolutionised dance both formally and conceptually. Through his collaborations with the dozens of composers and visual artists who created décor and sound for his dances, Cunningham extended his influence across artistic disciplines. 
 
Frank Stella is a key figure in postwar American modernism. Born in 1936 in a suburb of Boston, he attended the Phillips Academy, where he was introduced to the work of Josef Albers and Hans Hoffman. In 1958, after graduating from Princeton with a degree in history, he moved to New York and worked as a house painter without intent to become an artist–his interest was solely in creation.
 
Shortly thereafter, while operating from a rented studio shared with artist Carl Andre, Stella was introduced to and later represented by dealer Leo Castelli. Inspired by the Abstract Expressionist movement, but in a departure from the period, he produced the Black Paintings series. His work emphasised a two-dimensional, flat application of monochromatic paint. At age 25, he exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and his work during this time gave way to the Minimalist movement that followed.
 
In the 1960s, Stella began to work in unique materials such as aluminium and copper paint and he moved away from the traditional square canvas. He experimented with the optical effect of arranging bold colours and geometric forms. Characteristic of the artist is his nonrepresentational painting, no allusion to a narrative or symbolism within the content of his work. In 1970, he became the youngest artist to receive a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
 
Stella’s contributions to modern art are celebrated in the collections of major institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Tate Gallery in London, among others. He lives and works in New York.