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Lot Essay
‘Sam Francis’s style is unified by his exploration of space and light and is graced by a joyous radiance of colour.’ – Peter Selz
‘The white volume exerts pressure on the other colours, while it was formed by the other colours. It grows that way – this interdependence of white and colour.’ – Sam Francis
Gifted to Peter Selz by Sam Francis in 1974 and held in his collection ever since, Iris, 1965 is a white expanse contained within a darker frame. The white space here is deliberate and defined, and Francis once described it to Selz ‘like a shutter or an iris’ (S. Francis quoted in P. Selz, Sam Francis, New York, 1975, p. 101). Francis titled hesitantly but intentionally, and it was Selz who ultimately suggested that the painting be called Iris. Francis began the painting by layering coats of white before edging the canvas in wide, energetic brushstrokes, first red and orange followed by a darker glazing. The process was lengthy, which he described in detail to Selz: ‘First I stretched and sized canvas, then applied 5-6 layers of white to give it a certain quality with a little colour mixed in. Always, always I mixed colour into the white. Then I moved into the white area with reds, two different reds. Then came the small orange stripe on top, then down the left side. After that, the dark colours. While it was still wet, there was a blue dot and I let it run down’ (S. Francis in conversation with P. Selz, March 21, 1972). His use of highly pigmented acrylics allowed him to build up colours while retaining a luminescence and subtlety of composition. In Iris, the colours are rich and velvety: persimmon red, deep brown, a stark and unimpeachable white. There are only a few paintings in the Iris group and together they represent a culmination of Francis’ investigation into the geometric potential of white. That the white is simultaneously bounded and enlivened by the coloured border suggests a balancing act, and Francis was inspired by the haboku, or ‘flung ink’ paintings he had seen whilst visiting Japan in 1957. Iris is a meeting of dynamic opposites, strong yet harmonious; Selz called this relationship the ‘tension of coexistence’ (S. Francis quoted in P. Selz, Sam Francis, New York, 1975, p. 101). Iris marked a shift in Francis’ practice as he turned away from sweeping brushwork towards a tenser geometry of both line and rhythm. In an eye, the iris rings the pupil, swelling and shrinking depending on the light. Indeed, the white of the painting is neither a void nor an absence but instead an opening. Francis was also taken by the layered allusions contained by the word iris. In Greek mythology, Iris was the personification of rainbows and a messenger to the gods. Iris then is not simply an aperture, but a portal for story and possibility.
‘The white volume exerts pressure on the other colours, while it was formed by the other colours. It grows that way – this interdependence of white and colour.’ – Sam Francis
Gifted to Peter Selz by Sam Francis in 1974 and held in his collection ever since, Iris, 1965 is a white expanse contained within a darker frame. The white space here is deliberate and defined, and Francis once described it to Selz ‘like a shutter or an iris’ (S. Francis quoted in P. Selz, Sam Francis, New York, 1975, p. 101). Francis titled hesitantly but intentionally, and it was Selz who ultimately suggested that the painting be called Iris. Francis began the painting by layering coats of white before edging the canvas in wide, energetic brushstrokes, first red and orange followed by a darker glazing. The process was lengthy, which he described in detail to Selz: ‘First I stretched and sized canvas, then applied 5-6 layers of white to give it a certain quality with a little colour mixed in. Always, always I mixed colour into the white. Then I moved into the white area with reds, two different reds. Then came the small orange stripe on top, then down the left side. After that, the dark colours. While it was still wet, there was a blue dot and I let it run down’ (S. Francis in conversation with P. Selz, March 21, 1972). His use of highly pigmented acrylics allowed him to build up colours while retaining a luminescence and subtlety of composition. In Iris, the colours are rich and velvety: persimmon red, deep brown, a stark and unimpeachable white. There are only a few paintings in the Iris group and together they represent a culmination of Francis’ investigation into the geometric potential of white. That the white is simultaneously bounded and enlivened by the coloured border suggests a balancing act, and Francis was inspired by the haboku, or ‘flung ink’ paintings he had seen whilst visiting Japan in 1957. Iris is a meeting of dynamic opposites, strong yet harmonious; Selz called this relationship the ‘tension of coexistence’ (S. Francis quoted in P. Selz, Sam Francis, New York, 1975, p. 101). Iris marked a shift in Francis’ practice as he turned away from sweeping brushwork towards a tenser geometry of both line and rhythm. In an eye, the iris rings the pupil, swelling and shrinking depending on the light. Indeed, the white of the painting is neither a void nor an absence but instead an opening. Francis was also taken by the layered allusions contained by the word iris. In Greek mythology, Iris was the personification of rainbows and a messenger to the gods. Iris then is not simply an aperture, but a portal for story and possibility.