Cipango (A. 80) and Gran Cairo (A. 81) from Frank Stella’s Multicolored Squares I series, are a clear reference to Josef Albers’ Homage to the Square series, which the artist and colour-theorist began in 1951 and developed for over 25 years.
In 1970, The Museum of Modern Art presented a retrospective of Stella’s work, making him the youngest artist to ever to be recognised in this way at the museum. MoMA held a second retrospective of his work 17 years later, a first for a living artist.
Still experimenting in his ninth decade, Stella is credited with paving the way for the development of conceptual art.