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Sam GilliamConfetti Hex1978
1978
$19,000
£14,374.80
€16,590.75
CA$26,537.71
A$29,504.87
CHF 15,444.02
MX$361,867.43
NOK 196,641.42
SEK 185,652.80
DKK 123,805.64
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About the Item
Sam Gilliam (1933–2022) is beloved as one of the 20th century's most important abstract artists. He was a true innovator in the evolution of American abstraction. Several groundbreaking techniques are credited to him, most notably removing the canvas from the stretcher and draping his paintings.
Born in Mississippi, Gilliam studied at the University of Louisville and later worked in Washington D.C. with the Washington Colour School among artists such as Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland.
Drapery, structure, texture and volume are just a few of the important elements that Gilliam’s practice confronts. Gilliam was consistently experimenting with structure and materiality, whether through his suspended drape paintings or his heavily layered collage/screenprints.
In this unique work, arguably considered as a relief sculpture, Gilliam begins with hexagon shaped-base. It is given volume and presence from hardware cloth, which is made of flexible but powerful galvanized steel wire twisted into linking hexagonal forms. The structure is covered in an enchanting richly colored paste of white, teal, clover green, rose, lemon, marigold that recalls icing or a confetti cake.
Click here to see another large-scale work where Gilliam embraces the hexagon.
The 1970s were a prolific and dynamic period for Gilliam. This piece is a fine example from his "Roll Giverny" series. His palette was bright and celebratory. He frequently used color in a gestural way, in line with the second generation abstract expressionist artists such as Sam Francis. Gilliam also experimented with textiles, shaped canvases, paper pulp and hand-made papers presenting these materials through wrapping, crunching and layering frequently in asymmetrical or unconventional shapes.
Click here to see another example of Sam Gilliam using comparable materials.
Today, Gilliam's work can be found in the permanent collections of institutions around the world. He has held solo exhibitions at MoMA (New York City), The Phillips Collection (Washington, D.C.), and Kunstmuseum Basel (Switzerland).
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"Untitled" (aka Confetti Hex)
1978
Mixed media assemblage (acrylic, acrylic gel, hardware cloth, handmade paper and fabric)
Signed, oriented "Top" and dated by the artist, verso on the wood stretcher
13"H 11"W 5"D (work)
18.5"H 18.5"W 7.5"D (box)
Newly framed in custom acrylic box
Very good condition
Provenance: Single owner, private collection Toronto. Acquired from the Nina Freudenheim Gallery (Buffalo), July 1979
Note: additional images of the verso pre-framing available by request
- Creator:Sam Gilliam (1933, American)
- Creation Year:1978
- Dimensions:Height: 13 in (33.02 cm)Width: 11 in (27.94 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:Very good condition.
- Gallery Location:Toronto, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: 03-251stDibs: LU215215941442
Sam Gilliam
Postwar American artist Sam Gilliam was an innovative Color Field painter and lyrical abstractionist perhaps best known for working directly on draped, unprimed canvases freed from their stretcher bars in as early as the mid-1960s.
Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Gilliam studied art at the University of Louisville, earning both undergraduate and graduate degrees in fine art. He moved to Washington, D.C., in 1962, where he became associated with the Washington Color School. Inspired by the vibrant hues of German Expressionism, Gilliam pushed the limits of his medium by eliminating the use of easels and stretchers. Instead, he painted on draped canvases suspended from the walls and the ceiling of his studio.
Overlooked at first, the resulting works, radiant and rippling with energy, would become universally recognized as a hallmark of Gilliam’s oeuvre. Later in his career, he would draw inspiration from jazz and textile artistry, creating improvisational collage-style “quilted” paintings on nylon or canvas that recall quilt patterns.
In 1972, Gilliam became the first Black artist to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale; he also exhibited at the 2017 Venice Biennale. His works can be found in more than 50 public collections around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Corcoran Gallery of Art (now the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design) in Washington, D.C., the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Paris Museum of Modern Art, among many others. Gilliam’s awards include the United States State Department Medal of Arts, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship and more.
Find original Sam Gilliam prints and other art on 1stDibs.
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