Frank Stella's "Polish Village" series, created between 1970 and 1973, stands as a pivotal body of work within his career, marking a significant shift from his earlier minimalistic approaches to a more complex, three-dimensional form of abstract expression. This series was inspired by a 1959 book titled "Wooden Synagogues" by Maria and Kazimierz Piechotka, which documented the intricate carpentry of Eastern European synagogues that were largely destroyed during World War II. Stella, although not Jewish himself but of Italian-American descent, was profoundly moved by the architectural beauty and tragic loss of these structures, prompting him to embark on creating over 100 abstract works as homage (Phaidon).
The works in the "Polish Village" series are characterized by their angular, panelled compositions, incorporating materials such as paper, felt, and canvas to construct reliefs that are far more than mere commemorations of lost buildings. They are, in essence, a scholarly examination of cultural continuity and transformation, intertwining the geometric complexity of the synagogues' wooden constructions with the trajectory of 20th-century abstract art development. Stella connected the geometric and interlocking nature of the synagogue constructions to the evolution of abstraction in art, noting the path from Moscow to Warsaw to Berlin mirrored the destructive path of the synagogues during the war (Phaidon).
Representative works from this series, like "Kozandgrodek I" (1973), "Rozdol I" (1973), and "Olkienniki II" (1972), showcase Stella's innovative use of mixed media and low relief collage, employing materials like corrugated cardboard, felt, paint, and wood construction. These pieces highlight his exploration into the structural possibilities of painting, moving beyond the flat canvas to create something that occupies a space between painting and sculpture (Lévy Gorvy).
The "Polish Village" series is celebrated for its imaginative engagement with form and history, representing a bridge in Stella's oeuvre between minimalism and the maximalist, three-dimensional works that would follow. This body of work not only demonstrates Stella's deep engagement with the materiality of painting and sculpture but also reflects a profound meditation on memory, loss, and the power of art to preserve and transform cultural heritage.
