Sam Francis

Heland Thordén Wetterling Galleries, Stockholm
Gana Art Gallery, Seoul (acquired from the above in 1991)
Sotheby's, New York, 5 May 1994, Lot 149
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Stockholm, Heland Thordén Wetterling Galleries, Sam Francis, September - October 1987
Seoul, Gana Art Gallery, Sam Francis, June - July 1991, n.p. illustrated in colour

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate although the overall tonality is much brighter and more vibrant and the catalogue illustration fails to convey the neon quality of the greens in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. Close inspection reveals some minor wear in a few places along the extreme edges and a media accretion to the upper right quadrant, approx 10cm from the upper edge and another minute media accretion towards the centre of the upper left quadrant. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultraviolet light.
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A lively display of Francis’ endless creative spirit, Nous, from 1987 is a joyful celebration of colour. Although it is this colour that draws the eye of the viewer, it was often the confrontation with white that captivated Francis. In this work we see the skilful manipulation of not only the paint itself but also of the blank canvas behind. These intentionally visible intervals of white beneath the composition are the culmination of decades of exploration that involved going from one extreme to the other; completely covering the canvas from edge to edge, and then clearing the canvas leaving only bars of colour to remain along the outskirts. Through each transition of Francis’ career it was this field of white space that kept him completely enchanted, choreographing and manoeuvring the paint until finally, during the last phase of his career, it found the perfect balance.

At recurring intervals throughout Francis’ career, white has predominated his practice, as it did in the hospital room where he made his first brushstrokes. Large areas of canvas or paper are left free, allowing the colour to float above them like obscure and complex shapes and forms. Francis masterfully configures drips, splashes and strokes of thinned paint that, whilst spontaneous in appearance, have been meticulously mapped out beforehand. The aesthetic success of Francis’ compositions is considerably enhanced by the materials he used. Insisting on mixing his own pigments, Francis personally composed a subtle range of colours, which were constantly being refined. By focusing on colour, Francis reduced any references to external elements, allowing him to cultivate a language which referred solely to itself. As curator Pontus Hulten points out; “in Sam Francis’ paintings colour is often the subject, the essence, the substance of the work. He uses colour as force, as a revelation of unknown or little-known powers that surround us at all times. Colour for him is a dimension to be explored. It has its own resources” (Pontus Hulten in Exh. Cat., Sam Francis, Bonn, 1993, p. 28).

The fluid movement and circular motions that are created in Nous reflect an element of rhythm and cycle that recurs throughout the entirety of Francis’ artistic development. At certain moments he picked up and revisited elements which, on previous occasions he had left partially explored. The curved shape which transfixes the eye on an impressively large scale alludes to a continuation, as if the viewer is seeing a small loop of an endless piece of string. Indeed Francis’ practice, which spanned decades, rather feels like an infinite search for the moment when light, colour, space and composition come together seamlessly. Francis finally perfected this balance of elements during the final phase of his career, as exemplified through the present lot, Nous.