Sam Francis

SAM FRANCIS (San Mateo, California, 1923 - Santa Monica, California 1994).
Untitled, 1971.
Gouache on paper adhered to canvas.
Work exhibited in:
-Milan, Falchi Arte Moderna, Sam Francis, March 30, 1974, no. 11.
Work reproduced in:
-Debra Burchett-Lere, ed, Sam Francis: Online Catalogue Raisonné Project, no. SF71-007A, online (illustrated).
Features exhibition information labels on verso.
Measurements: 33 x 40 cm; 61 x 68 cm (frame).
Provenance:
André Emmerich Gallery, Zurich.
Falchi Arte Moderna, Milan (acquired from the previous one in 1973).
Acquired from the above by a private collector.
In 1971, Sam Francis was in a consolidated phase of his career, deepening the abstract explorations that had made him a central figure in abstract expressionism and lyrical art. During this period, his work was characterized by a vibrant and expansive use of color, as well as an open, gestural composition that evoked sensations of freedom and infinite space as we see in this work.
Influenced by his travels between the United States, Europe and Japan, he combined at that time expressive energy with a refined sensitivity to light and transparency. His painting from 1971 often shows stains and splashes of pigment that seem to float on a white or light-colored field, creating a dialogue between emptiness and form. This tension between presence and absence, along with the sensation of organic movement, reflected his interest in meditation and nature, as well as in the search for a universal visual language. In fact, as the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía points out in relation to the exhibition dedicated to him in 2000: "The burst of color, of great emotional intensity and technical skill, will characterize his work and will accompany him until the end of his days".

Sam Francis transformed a traumatic experience into the driving force of his artistic career: after suffering a serious accident in World War II and spending years hospitalized, he began to paint inspired by his friend David Parks. He studied art at Berkeley and quickly immersed himself in abstract expressionism, influenced by Rothko and Gorky, and then developed a vibrant, colorful language of his own.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Francis lived between Paris, New York and London, participating in key exhibitions that placed him at the epicenter of contemporary art. His work evolved into open compositions, where color and floating form express deep emotions. Between 1960 and 1963 he created the "Blue Balls" series, a reflection of his struggle with tuberculosis, with biomorphic forms in shades of blue that convey both fragility and energy.
Beginning in 1971, after intense Jungian analysis, Francis incorporated an exploration of dreams and the unconscious into his painting, resulting in works full of fresh air: large areas of open canvas, drips and splashes of color that capture the freedom and vitality of the spirit. In the following years his paintings expanded in scale and complexity, with formal matrices disappearing after 1980 to give way to an even freer and more spontaneous language.
In addition to being a painter, he was an active printmaker and founder of The Lapis Press, dedicated to fusing word and image in innovative formats. Sam Francis is, without a doubt, a figure who transformed pain and introspection into a vibrant chromatic universe that continues to inspire and excite.