Phase

Sam Gilliam

1974 · Screenprint · Drawings and Prints

Gilliam once stated, "I choreograph the color in terms of the way I want it to be seen." In Phase, a range of vibrant tones and fluid gestures that recall drips, splatters, stains, and strokes work in tandem to transmit an abundance of detail and emotional energy. The print possesses a sense of luminosity reminiscent of stained-glass windows: crisscrossing bands in lush tones of red create a latticelike structure, while shimmering colors with various degrees of translucency are irregularly interspersed across the surface like dappled light. Phase conjures the improvisation and experimentation found in Gilliam’s monumental color-stained canvases known as the drape paintings, yet because it is a screenprint, each color, mark, and gesture had to be carefully planned and a strict order followed in its creation.

Artist

Sam Gilliam

Date

1974

Medium

Screenprint

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Purchase, Hamilton Award, 2018