Quasar III

Artist Julian Stanczak American, born Poland, 1928–2017

Date1988

MediumAcrylic on canvas

Dimensions50 1/8 x 50 1/8 in. (127.3 x 127.3 cm)
Frame: 50 7/8 x 50 7/8 in. (129.2 x 129.2 cm)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineGift of Neil K. Rector

Object number98.10

On View

Not on view

Label TextJulian Stanczak's paintings have become Op Art icons. Quasar, a fine example of the artist's maturity, exemplifies this genre, which depends upon the purely visual and promotes pattern at the expense of content. Indeed, pattern is content. Though applied after the fact, the title is apt: the picture does suggest an image of a distant star as seen through a telescope. Though rigorously systematized, the image is suffused with a hot, radiant light that threatens to overwhelm and dissolve the lattice structure. Stanczak understands his paintings not as representations of the world, but as "parallel representations," distilled of the same experience.ProvenanceCreated Seven Hills, OH, 1988; collection of the artist; sold to Neil K. Rector, Columbus, OH, 1998; given to NCMA, 1998.
Exhibition HistoryCincinnati, OH, Carl Solway Gallery, "Julian Stanczak: Decades of Light," March 1-April 13, 1991.

Bridgeport, MA, The Discovery Museum, "Colors: Contrasts and Cultures," September 28, 1997-January 4, 1998.

Youngstown, OH, The Butler Institute of American Art, "Julian Stanczak: A Retrospective," March 15-May 3, 1998 (not listed in catalogue).
Object Rights Statement

The North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) makes images of its collection available online to support research and scholarship and to inform and educate the public. Certain works of art, as well as the photographs of those works of art, may be protected by copyright, trademark, or related interests not owned by the NCMA. The responsibility for ascertaining whether any such rights exist and for obtaining all other necessary permissions remains with the applicant. To request images and/or permissions from the NCMA, please complete our online request form.