Untitled (Sketch) (SF66-048) 1966

Curator: Let's consider Sam Francis's "Untitled (Sketch) (SF66-048)" from 1966, done in acrylic. Editor: Yes, it is primarily broad swathes of blue, magenta, and green acrylic framing what feels like an absent center. It really strikes me as quite raw, almost like the process is the point, and maybe it disrupts that line between finished piece and experiment? What do you see in it? Curator: I think that's spot on. Notice the material reality of the paint itself. Its viscosity, the way it bleeds and pools. How does the canvas operate here, not as a ground for illusion, but as an active participant in the performance of painting? This disrupts the high/low art binary, doesn't it? This blurring rejects the idea of a precious "masterpiece," directing our gaze to the very act of production. Editor: It does. And the sketch designation in the title reinforces that focus on the artistic labor. It almost democratizes the process by revealing the artist's hand so directly. It's like the consumer is right there with him. Curator: Precisely! Think about how this shift, this emphasis on material and process, reflects a broader cultural questioning of production methods and consumption patterns in the '60s. How might his paintings challenge traditional market values and connoisseurship? Editor: It suggests the art world may need to see a shift away from exclusive perfection. I wonder how the choice of acrylic paint plays into all of this. It feels like it must represent a deliberate distancing from oil paint and all its traditional implications. Curator: Exactly. It speaks to a conscious engagement with new industrial materials, readily available for purchase and open for any artist. It shifts the emphasis away from art as rarefied commodity and towards something born of everyday means. This discussion has given me a fresh angle on Francis’ body of work as an evolution. Editor: I'll never look at abstract expressionism the same way again! Thinking about process really illuminates aspects you simply can't access by focusing only on form.