Baptistry 1975

Curator: Right, let's delve into Sam Gilliam's "Baptistry," created in 1975. It's a vibrant mixed-media piece, largely acrylic on canvas, wouldn't you say? Editor: It hits you, doesn’t it? Visceral. It's like peering into a kaleidoscope that's also somehow earthy, those rusts and greens pulling me in. Curator: Gilliam, even within the Color Field movement, felt compelled to push boundaries. His draped canvases are much more famous, but here we see an echo of that experimentation on a flat surface. "Baptistry" shows the continued dialogue with geometric abstraction happening then. Editor: Draped canvases...ah, yes! That desire to liberate the canvas. But here, even grounded, he's hinting at release, a stained glass feel of pure color, even if it’s arranged in this fragmented composition. Almost an echo of early modernist stained glass. I love it. Curator: Consider, though, that Gilliam was working during a period of significant social and political upheaval. Many artists, particularly Black artists like Gilliam, were grappling with questions of identity and representation. This piece—a 'Baptistry'— might be a reference, through abstraction, of purification and rebirth. The work asks us if abstract work like this offers solace. Editor: So, the “Baptistry” as not just a location for change, but that painting IS a transformative ritual, the swirling colours cleansing the eye. I like the weight of that. And you’re right, it offers some solace. I see beauty and then I want to figure out what Gilliam is trying to say, so I dig into my books or listen to someone like you, and I learn and that is hopeful, is it not? Curator: Absolutely. The tension between its title—evoking sacred spaces—and the unapologetic abstract expressionism at play create this beautiful dissonance. Editor: Gilliam throws down a dare for the audience! Well, it works for me! Gives my eye a place to rest and then something new to chase after. A reminder of constant discovery and a push against boundaries. Thanks for that!