Untitled - SF78-235 1978

Sam Francis made this untitled painting with big, bold moves—a dance with a brush and red paint on a white background, sometime in the 20th century. You can almost feel Francis, lost in the moment, letting the paint drip and pool, making shapes appear and disappear. Look at that square of red. It’s not just sitting there; it's alive, pulsing with energy, like a heartbeat. He’s playing with us, showing and hiding, creating a space where we can wander and wonder. I get a sense that Francis was searching, experimenting with forms and colors, echoing the likes of Matisse and Rothko, but doing his own thing, you know? Like, how do you create depth without actually building it up, but stripping it away? Painting is like that, an ongoing conversation. It’s messy, uncertain, but that’s where the magic happens.