North Cook News

The Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University will present the exhibition "Pouring, Spilling, Bleeding: Helen Frankenthaler and Artists’ Experiments on Paper" from September 17 to December 14, 2025. The exhibition highlights the printmaking work of Helen Frankenthaler and explores how artists have used works on paper for experimentation and risk-taking.

Central to the exhibition is a recent gift from the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, which includes 34 prints and working proofs by Frankenthaler. This donation is part of the Frankenthaler Prints Initiative, a program launched in 2018 that provides university museums with selections of Frankenthaler's work along with funding for research and interpretation. In 2023, The Block was one of ten university art museums nationwide to receive such a portfolio.

Lisa Corrin, Ellen Philips Katz Executive Director of The Block Museum, stated: “This exhibition exemplifies how a university museum can serve as a catalyst for fresh approaches to scholarship, curation, and teaching.”

Frankenthaler's approach to printmaking mirrors her painting style through techniques she described as “pouring, flooding, spilling, bleeding.” Her works are presented alongside over thirty pieces from The Block’s permanent collection by artists such as Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, Robert Motherwell, David Smith, Lynda Benglis, Amy Sillman, John Cage, Max Gimblett, and Kikuo Saito.

Curators Stephanie S.E. Lee (2024–25 Block Museum Graduate Fellow in Art History) and Corinne Granof (Academic Curator) conducted research at the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation archives to inform the presentation. They focused on visual and textual records documenting Frankenthaler's collaborative print process.

“As a specialist in prints and drawings, being able to study Frankenthaler’s working proofs up close was transformative,” said Stephanie S.E. Lee. “In many ways, these working proofs show what the editioned print cannot: they are traces of decision-making, experimentation, and artistic dialogue between Frankenthaler, her circle, and the print workshop. That is what we wanted to bring to life in the exhibition.”

Corinne Granof commented: “Frankenthaler’s prints disrupt the idea that control is essential to the printmaking process. This exhibition celebrates how artists represented in our collection take risks, collaborate with materials, and embrace the unpredictable—on paper as much as on canvas.”

A series of public programs will accompany the exhibition:

- On September 25 there will be an exploration led by co-curator Stephanie S.E. Lee.

- Alexander Nemerov will deliver an exhibition keynote lecture on October 17.

- Cora Chalaby will give a gallery talk about painting and printmaking in Frankenthaler's work on October 22.

- A curator talk with Corinne Granof takes place October 30.

- Student-led talks are scheduled for November 1 and December 6.

- On November 12 there will be a discussion featuring Lane Relyea with artists Soo Shin and Anna Kunz about contemporary resonance of Frankenthaler's practice.

Support for this exhibition comes from both the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation—which aims to preserve her legacy while supporting new generations—and The Alumnae of Northwestern University. Additional support is provided by The Graduate School at Northwestern University.

The inclusion of this major gift has enabled new research opportunities at The Block Museum while emphasizing its commitment to interdisciplinary learning through object-based study.