Manet II 1999

Sam Gilliam made this collaged painting, Manet II, with paper, paint, and probably a whole lot of intuition! The blues, reds, and browns create a layered effect, like peering through different veils. I wonder what Gilliam was thinking as he built up this surface. I love the concentric circles, almost like targets, or the rings of a tree trunk counting the years. The textures are so tactile, you can almost feel the roughness of the paper and the slickness of the paint. There’s a real energy here, a kind of controlled chaos. Gilliam’s known for his draped canvases, and this feels like a cousin to those works – experimental, pushing the boundaries of what a painting can be. It reminds me of Robert Rauschenberg’s combines, that same willingness to throw everything into the mix. Artists like Gilliam are in constant conversation with each other. It's a reminder that painting is a journey, not a destination, full of happy accidents and unexpected discoveries.