Wikipedia entry
Introduction
Sam Gilliam ( GHIL-ee-əm; November 30, 1933 – June 25, 2022) was an American color field painter and lyrical abstractionist artist. Gilliam was associated with the Washington Color School, a group of Washington, D.C.-area artists that developed a form of abstract art from color field painting in the 1950s and 1960s. His works have also been described as belonging to abstract expressionism and lyrical abstraction. He worked on stretched, draped and wrapped canvas, and added sculptural 3D elements. He was recognized as the first artist to introduce the idea of a draped, painted canvas hanging without stretcher bars around 1965. This was a major contribution to the Color Field School and has had a lasting impact on the contemporary art canon. Arne Glimcher, Gilliam's art dealer at Pace Gallery, wrote following his death that "His experiments with color and surface are right up there with the achievements of Rothko and Pollock."In his later work, Gilliam worked with polypropylene, computer-generated imaging, metallic, and iridescent acrylics, handmade paper, aluminum, steel, plywood, and plastic.
Wikidata
Q2216478
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Getty record
Introduction
The pioneering abstract painter was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and received an MA in painting from the University of Louisville. Working with brilliant color, he became known for showing his abstract canvases stripped of wood stretchers and draped from ceilings or gathered and pinned to walls.
Nationalities
American, African American
Gender
Male
Roles
Artist, Teacher, Painter, Sculptor
Names
Sam Gilliam, Jr. Sam Gilliam
Ulan
500013570
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Information from Getty’s Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License

Works

8 works online

Exhibitions

Publications

  • MoMA Highlights: 375 Works from The Museum of Modern Art Introduction by Glenn D. Lowry, 2019 Flexibound, 408 pages
  • MoMA Now: Highlights from The Museum of Modern Art—Ninetieth Anniversary Edition Introduction by Glenn D. Lowry, 2019 Hardcover, 424 pages
  • Among Others: Blackness at MoMA Charlotte Barat and Darby English, 2019 Hardcover, 488 pages
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