SAM GILLIAM | BUTTERFLY DAYS
Lot Closed
July 18, 04:06 PM GMT
Estimate
12,000 - 18,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
SAM GILLIAM
b.1933
BUTTERFLY DAYS
signed and titled on the reverse
acrylic, wood, polypropylene, monoprint and paper collage on handmade paper
Sheet: 51 by 48 in. (129.5 by 122 cm.)
Framed: 59 by 53½ in. (149.8 by 136 cm.)
Executed circa 1980-1989.
PROVENANCE
Collection of William Weege
Private collection (acquired from the above circa 1980-89)
Heritage Auctions Texas, 14 Novmber 2015, Lot 70038
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
Collection of William Weege
Private collection (acquired from the above circa 1980-89)
Heritage Auctions Texas, 14 Novmber 2015, Lot 70038
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
“My work consists of solids and veils: the union of solids, or metal forms, seen as volumes against a raked and grooved paint surface. It is constructed painting, in that it crosses the void between object and viewer, to be part of the space in front of the picture plane. It represents an act of pure passage. The surface is no longer the final plane of the work. It is instead the beginning of an advance into the theater of life.”
– Sam Gilliam, with Annie Gawlak, “Solids and Veils,” Art Journal, 50:1, Spring 1991, pp. 10
Sam Gilliam is an innovative colorist who, by cutting and rearranging geometric shapes from thickly painted canvases, expanded his experiments in color and improvisation. Gilliam’s solo exhibition last year at the Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland is an indication of the recent surge in appreciation of the artist’s oeuvre.