As one of the most revered American artists, Frank Stella is well known for his unique minimalist and post-abstract paintings in bright colors, which create vivid optical illusions. Popular and loved throughout the world, this year he makes quite a statement with a retrospective and new artwork.

Currently showing at the Royal Academy of Arts in London until May 12 is a new large-scale artwork by Stella. The 7-meter tall sculpture, titled Inflated Star and Wooden Star (2014), is made of aluminum and teak wood. The contrasting materials create a sense of tension, making the material appear simultaneously repelled and attracted to each other, as if trapped in an invisible force field. A work that truly deserves to be seen in person.

This autumn, a major retrospective of his work will open at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York which will showcase his prolific output from the mid-1950s to the present with approximately 120 works, including paintings, reliefs, maquettes, sculptures, and drawings. It will be the most comprehensive survey of his oeuvre to date and is sure to be one amazing show as there is certainly no artist more deserving than him, so be sure to schedule it in.