Frank Stella (1936–2024), preeminent American artist and one of the leading practitioners of what became known as minimalism, has died at 87. Stella’s proclamation, “what you see is what you see,” became the mantra of the minimalist art movement in the 1960s and 1970s.

“Mr. Stella was a dominant figure in postwar American art, a restless, relentless innovator whose explorations of color and form made him an outsize presence, endlessly discussed and constantly on exhibit.

Few American artists of the 20th century arrived with quite his éclat. He was in his early 20s when his large-scale black paintings — precisely delineated black stripes separated by thin lines of blank canvas — took the art world by storm. Austere, self-referential, opaque, they cast a chilling spell.”

Read the New York Times tribute, to learn more about Stella’s life and legacy.

One of Stella’s final works is the large-scale mural that he conceived for Mirvish Village. This piece will be located in the new public park on the west side of Markham Street, and pays homage to Damascus Gate, 1970. One of the largest paintings in Stella’s protractor series, Damascus Gate was displayed at David Mirvish’s gallery for 35 years.