SAM FRANCIS (1923-1994)

Sam Francis is one of the most internationally recognised artists, having worked and travelled across most continents throughout the second half of the 20th century. After suffering an injury during WWII, Francis turned to art, first as therapy which quickly turned into passion.

In an effort to explore non-American artistic movements, Francis moved to Paris in 1950, where he could observe real paintings by Matisse, Monet, Cézanne, Bonnard, which would mark his art for the rest of his artistic career. From then on, his various friendships and acquaintances would help him shape a unique visual and explorative language in constant evolution.

Untitled (Lot 271) is a beautiful and monumental example of Francis' work from the 1970s. In the early 1970s, Francis started studying Jungian psychology, which led him to analyse and interpret his main life questions through images and dreams. His compositions started taking on geometrical shapes in an effort exploit the canvas' grid by depicting channels of light which would thus produce a new structure to the composition. Here, the structure of the work is revised with large crossing tracks of colour creating a new composition. Created by applying wet bands of paint with a roller, the artist reasserts his interest in colour by adding pools, drips and splatters of paint, producing variations in the materiality of colours.

The artist's movement and psyche transpire in this powerful work on paper, which reveal his thought process as it evolves with his exploration of psychology and alchemy.