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Lot Essay
"My work isn’t illustrative of anything. My aim is to get to the essence, not to reproduce an outer image. I want to reach something deeper, something more primeval." Sam Francis
Splashed across the page with vigorous confidence, the striking pigments of Sam Francis’s 1958 Untitled demand one’s attention. A dominating assemblage of frenetic brushstrokes, the work’s central composition intertwines shades of turquoise, deep plum, and sea green with brilliant yellow, tangerine, and fuchsia, crafting a vivid rainbow of expressive hue. Across the edges of the page, the artist’s masterful hand can be seen in sweeping strokes, crashing and combining with his zealous drips and splashes. Though the vivacious colors of this Untitled appear to monopolize the canvas, Francis’s use of white space subtly conducts the composition as it works its way into the colors’ central structure. Noted for this intriguing use of negative space and form, Francis’s 1958 works of this nature remain some of his most vibrant and significant works to date. With a shocking use of colors rare in the artist’s oeuvre and an emotive display of action through painting, Untitled is a testament to the expressive power of Sam Francis’s creations, the artist’s excitement and passion radiating from each fleck of paint.
Created at the end of an 8 year stint in Paris, this untitled work is a stunning representation of this incredibly prolific era of Francis’s career. Having moved to Paris in 1950, Francis was beginning to feel the need to take his work elsewhere. With a truly cosmopolitan spirit, he was constantly seeking new means of furthering his expressions, accepting major commissions from Kunsthalle Basel and the Sogetsu school in Tokyo in 1957. This ability to travel from his home base in Paris proved especially influential for Francis, who was now able to exhibit his work on a global scale and take inspiration for the varying cultures and artistic communities he explored. His time in Tokyo, in particular, shaped much of the work he would produce in the following year, encouraging him to examine the relationship of negative white space to his overall compositions. The captivating example presented here toys with this relationship in bold and dramatic fashion, creating a harmonious configuration of rhythmic splashes, impassioned brushstrokes, and masterful form.
Splashed across the page with vigorous confidence, the striking pigments of Sam Francis’s 1958 Untitled demand one’s attention. A dominating assemblage of frenetic brushstrokes, the work’s central composition intertwines shades of turquoise, deep plum, and sea green with brilliant yellow, tangerine, and fuchsia, crafting a vivid rainbow of expressive hue. Across the edges of the page, the artist’s masterful hand can be seen in sweeping strokes, crashing and combining with his zealous drips and splashes. Though the vivacious colors of this Untitled appear to monopolize the canvas, Francis’s use of white space subtly conducts the composition as it works its way into the colors’ central structure. Noted for this intriguing use of negative space and form, Francis’s 1958 works of this nature remain some of his most vibrant and significant works to date. With a shocking use of colors rare in the artist’s oeuvre and an emotive display of action through painting, Untitled is a testament to the expressive power of Sam Francis’s creations, the artist’s excitement and passion radiating from each fleck of paint.
Created at the end of an 8 year stint in Paris, this untitled work is a stunning representation of this incredibly prolific era of Francis’s career. Having moved to Paris in 1950, Francis was beginning to feel the need to take his work elsewhere. With a truly cosmopolitan spirit, he was constantly seeking new means of furthering his expressions, accepting major commissions from Kunsthalle Basel and the Sogetsu school in Tokyo in 1957. This ability to travel from his home base in Paris proved especially influential for Francis, who was now able to exhibit his work on a global scale and take inspiration for the varying cultures and artistic communities he explored. His time in Tokyo, in particular, shaped much of the work he would produce in the following year, encouraging him to examine the relationship of negative white space to his overall compositions. The captivating example presented here toys with this relationship in bold and dramatic fashion, creating a harmonious configuration of rhythmic splashes, impassioned brushstrokes, and masterful form.