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Lot Essay
"Manner, gesture, sound, line, and color – in these we have a primitive, pure, and direct means of expression." — Sam Francis
Arcs of brilliant blues and reds sweep across the expanse of Sam Francis’ Untitled, 1986. The beauty of diluted acrylic painting on the surface of the canvas renders the similarity of the aesthetic of watercolor paintings, granting Untitled a lightness and dreamlike touch. The patches of color resemble the images of Rorschach and evoke the poetics of reverie like the colors Marc Chagall used to stock up to in his surrealist paintings. It is a vibrant example of Francis’ unrivaled understanding of color and ways in which paint can be manipulated and maneuvered to evoke a sense of lyrical poetry and emotion.
Zen Buddhism strongly influenced the oeuvre of Sam Francis as it portrays a sense of airiness and inviting to the act of contemplation; “Francis was transported into the ether through his work” (K. McKenna, “Sam Francis: A Force of Nature,” Los Angeles Times, 18 August 1996). On equal terms, the drippings presented in Untitled, 1986 add material weight to the composition and unveil the influence Jackson Pollock had on Sam Francis’s work.
Sam Francis was, and still is, one of the most significant painters of Abstract Expressionism, The unicity and color-palette of his paintings is what makes his work so desired. As he once said, “Color is a series of harmonies, everywhere in the universe being divine, whole numbers lasting forever, adrift in time…”. — Sam Francis. (S. Francis quoted in K. McKenna, “Sam Francis: A Force of Nature,” Los Angeles Times, 18 August 1996).
Arcs of brilliant blues and reds sweep across the expanse of Sam Francis’ Untitled, 1986. The beauty of diluted acrylic painting on the surface of the canvas renders the similarity of the aesthetic of watercolor paintings, granting Untitled a lightness and dreamlike touch. The patches of color resemble the images of Rorschach and evoke the poetics of reverie like the colors Marc Chagall used to stock up to in his surrealist paintings. It is a vibrant example of Francis’ unrivaled understanding of color and ways in which paint can be manipulated and maneuvered to evoke a sense of lyrical poetry and emotion.
Zen Buddhism strongly influenced the oeuvre of Sam Francis as it portrays a sense of airiness and inviting to the act of contemplation; “Francis was transported into the ether through his work” (K. McKenna, “Sam Francis: A Force of Nature,” Los Angeles Times, 18 August 1996). On equal terms, the drippings presented in Untitled, 1986 add material weight to the composition and unveil the influence Jackson Pollock had on Sam Francis’s work.
Sam Francis was, and still is, one of the most significant painters of Abstract Expressionism, The unicity and color-palette of his paintings is what makes his work so desired. As he once said, “Color is a series of harmonies, everywhere in the universe being divine, whole numbers lasting forever, adrift in time…”. — Sam Francis. (S. Francis quoted in K. McKenna, “Sam Francis: A Force of Nature,” Los Angeles Times, 18 August 1996).