Close to Trees 2011

Sam Gilliam made these suspended drapes with colour and dye on fabric. Looking at them I am moved by the act of painting itself. They look like they've come into being, shifting and emerging through trial and error. I can imagine Gilliam thinking about the material aspects of painting, how dye soaks into cloth. He allows colour to flood and stain each piece, and through this material process, the work discovers its form. The folds of each cloth are like gesture marks, each one communicating feeling, intention, and meaning. The paint is thin, liquid, soaked right in and it shapes the way we experience it. Gilliam might be having a conversation with Helen Frankenthaler here - or maybe Joan Mitchell. Artists are always in an ongoing exchange of ideas across time. It is so inspiring. Painting is a form of expression which embraces ambiguity and uncertainty. It allows for multiple interpretations, rather than one fixed reading.