Restore 1968

Sam Gilliam made "Restore" with dynamic gestures and a dark, moody palette. I can only imagine what it might have been like, working with paint that seems both thick and thin, staining and opaque, pushing and pulling, trial and error. Look at how the various layers interact, creating depth and texture on the surface. There’s a vertical cascade of red, like something visceral, exposed. You can see it bleeding downwards. It’s wild, right? Gilliam’s a master of color and form, and "Restore" fits right in with his experimental approach. His work reminds me of Helen Frankenthaler’s soak-stain paintings, but with a rawer, more improvisational feel. We artists are always riffing off each other, playing with ideas across time. Painting’s a form of expression; it’s not always clear or neat. The beauty of art is that it embraces this uncertainty, allowing space for everyone to interpret and experience things in their own way.