Union
Date1977
Maker
Sam Gilliam
American, 1933 - 2022
Label TextIn the late 1960s, Sam Gilliam began to pour paint directly onto unstretched canvas, which he would then fold or crumple while the paint was still wet and leave on the studio floor to dry. The creases allowed the paint to pool and duplicate, forming lines and patterns determined by the natural pliability of canvas and fluidity of paint -- and by an element of chance. Blurring the line between painted image and object, these works subvert the distinction between painting and sculpture.
Union is from Gilliam's series of Black paintings, a further innovation in the artist's career. In these heavily layered works, Gilliam raked a thick, stucco-like black paint over a brightly stained canvas, creating a tension in color revealed and concealed by the dark surface. The thickness of the paint emphasizes the physicality of the work, as do the collaged strips of cut canvas -- another of Gilliam's experiments with materials, now centered on a geometric plane.
Object number82.117
ProvenanceMr. and Mrs. Edward Peirolo, Chevy Chase, Maryland; by gift to the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1982
Photo CreditPhoto: Elizabeth Mann
Exhibition HistoryWashington, DC, Fendrick Gallery, Black Paintings, February 1978Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Peirolo
Dimensions55 x 65 1/2 in. (139.7 x 166.4 cm)
MediumAcrylic on canvas
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