Untitled (SFP94-29, SFF.1708) 1994

Curator: Looking at this explosive canvas, Untitled (SFP94-29, SFF.1708) by Sam Francis from 1994, what are your immediate impressions? Editor: Overwhelming, really. It's a visual riot. The density of colour, the overlapping layers, there's a sense of contained chaos. Curator: It’s true that Francis, even toward the end of his life, still captured something very urgent with abstraction. After battling cancer for many years, one can see in his paintings created later in his life a vibrant sense of defiance to such condition through an absolute dedication to colours. He maintained studios globally. The cultural impact from such position allowed a cross-cultural fertilization to happen within abstraction. Editor: Yes, but focus on the interplay of hues here, though! Notice the almost deliberate tension between the dominant reds and yellows against the contrasting blues and greens. It's a fascinating study of complementary colour relationships. Also, the drips and splatters have the power to guide our gaze around the artwork. Curator: The energetic application of paint is central to understanding this piece. After Jackson Pollock’s success, we could see the development of drip painting and color field in a singular application that brought so many young artist to further advance abstraction. But do you think there’s something beyond the formal here? Do you see in the canvas an extension of how society can be expressed? Editor: Well, it definitely evokes a feeling of liberation. Look at the negative space that Francis utilizes to grant breathability to this chaotic scene: pure intentionality. One could also see echoes of Surrealist automatism with an American grand scale, what do you think? Curator: Absolutely! The automatism that followed the war provided liberation in both a micro-individual and macro-economical scales; this reflects deeply on Abstract Expressionism. Editor: A stunning piece offering so much richness. Curator: Agreed, a very significant mark within a generation that redefined our aesthetic paradigm.