Untitled, from Michel Waldberg's Poèmes dans le ciel 1986

Sam Francis made this untitled painting, part of Michel Waldberg's "Poèmes dans le ciel," with ink and acrylic on paper. It's like a constellation of splatters and drips, mostly blues, reds, and yellows, against a bright white background. You can almost see Francis in action, flicking his wrist, letting the paint fly, each mark a little burst of energy. I imagine he's chasing something, not a specific image, but a feeling, a rhythm. There's this big, bold stroke of blue that anchors the whole composition, but then the little dots of color dance around it, creating this amazing sense of movement. The red is sharp, almost angry, the yellows are playful, and the blues are deep, like gazing into water. Francis was part of this whole Abstract Expressionist moment, where it was all about the gesture, the act of painting itself. He was in conversation with Pollock, Rothko, all those guys. Painting for them wasn’t just about making a pretty picture, it was about pushing the boundaries of what art could be. It’s like they’re all in this big, messy studio together, egging each other on, challenging each other to go further, to be more free.