abstract image; vertical band of dappled orange and red color in center, flanked by vertical bands of cooler layered tones of green, blue and pink pigments on right and left sides

%C2%A9 Sam Gilliam %2F Artists Rights Society %28ARS%29%2C New York

Fire, 1972

Not on Viewexpand_more

Sam Gilliam’s art often breaks boundaries. Like other Color Field painters, he eliminated the brush and poured dilute colors directly onto unprimed canvases. He famously went a step further and eliminated the stretchers to let his canvases drape like banners. Sometimes he balled up his canvases, folded them, or twisted them, causing colors to offset or blend in unpredictable ways. This spirt of freedom and willingness to let chance play its part is reflected in Fire in the irregular, layered, patchy, roughly-mirrored application of semi-transparent colors. This is one of Gilliam’s first engagements with printmaking, an activity that became a significant part of his artistic practice.

Details
Title
Fire
Artist Life
1933 - 2022
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2018.134.1
Provenance
John E. Andrus III (Wayzata, Minn. (unitl d.2012); by descent to Julie Andrus, Minneapolis; given to MIA, 2018.
Curator Approved

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abstract image; vertical band of dappled orange and red color in center, flanked by vertical bands of cooler layered tones of green, blue and pink pigments on right and left sides

© Sam Gilliam / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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