(Image Courtesy of Boston Seaport)
Boston Seaport welcomes its newest contemporary public art installation: a large-scale mural by Frank Stella. WS Development, the primary developer behind Boston’s Seaport neighborhood, in collaboration with the Marianne Boesky Gallery, commissioned the Malden, Massachusetts native to create one of the largest public art installations of the artist’s 60-year career – a mural reproduction of his seminal painting, Damascus Gate (Stretch Variation I), 1970. Located at 60 Seaport Boulevard, the Seaport reproduction measures 98 x 18 feet, allowing viewers to experience it from diverse locations and perspectives across the neighborhood.
Damascus Gate (Stretch Variation I) originated in 1970 as part of Stella’s acclaimed Protractor series, which combines abstract geometric compositions to create a mystifying visual experience that shifts radically when viewed from different perspectives. Named after ancient sites in Asia Minor, Damascus Gate features squares and circles, intersected by what Stella calls ‘interlaces,’ ‘rainbows,’ and ‘fans.’
Over the past two years, Seaport has collaborated with an array of local and international artists to bring 10 distinct public art installations to the neighborhood. Stella’s mural coincides with the one-year anniversary of Seaport’s notable commission of Air Sea Land, whereby renowned Spanish artist Okuda San Miguel created seven sculptures exclusively for the neighborhood, positioned along Seaport Boulevard.
Both Frank Stella’s Damascus Gate (Stretch Variation I) and Okuda San Miguel’s Air Sea Land are on view now in Boston Seaport.
For more information, visit www.bostonseaport.xyz.
