NCMA’s Frank Stella piece Raqqa Two is an expansive painting that sits on the main floor of the North Carolina Museum of Art. The 1970 painting falls toward the end of the Protractor Series- the late sixties paintings where Stella experimented with canvas shape by using complex wooden and aluminum frames. The imagery and shape of the painting is inspired by Stella’s experience in circular Mideastern cities, this particular piece being named after the Syrian city Al-Raqqa.
Jay Krueger, an art conservator with the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., has been repairing Raqqa Two. Slowly Kreuger is painting over scratches and scuffs left by years of museum visitors. NBC 17 talks to Krueger about the process here. One wonders if Krueger would be tempted to correct Stella’s obvious “imperfections” when the tightly controlled color fields wrap the canvas edge in random and almost sloppy spills.
Welcome to New Raleigh. We welcome your participation in the ongoing discussion. Before posting we ask that you read our Comment Policy and we invite you to register with our site. If you want to keep up with the news on our blog, subscribe to the RSS feed or get emailed every time we post.