Sam Francis - Contemporary Art London Thursday, June 21, 2007 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Solomon & Co. Fine Art, New York

  • Exhibited

    Berlin, Vonderbank Artgalleries, Figuration and Abstraction, May 11 – July 20, 2005

  • Catalogue Essay

    However casual the paintings may seem, Sam Francis has left little to chance. The artist once said “Chance is another name for God, you know.” He knew, without doubt, what would happen when he moved the brush, stick or roller over the canvas. Because of his immense craftsmanship the paintings become a direct projection of the subconscious, using the body only as a tool between mind and image. “With an astounding end easy-going mastery, the painter just helps the elements to unite; he simply organizes their conflicts and their confluence’s. This is reminiscent of the command of the Zen master who hardly needs action to practice his art. Just look a little bit closer; that is all it takes to realize that a real tour de force is required to create these impossible mixtures, these hazardous trickles, these diabolical splashes. Even within the shapeless and the chaos, the painter continues to compose and to organize.” (Y. Michaud and Museum van de Togt, eds., Sam Francis, Amsterdam, 1992)

47

Untitled

1986
Acrylic on canvas.
63 x 84 1/4 in. (160 x 214 cm).
Signed and dated “Sam Francis 1986” on the reverse. This work is registered in the Sam Francis Archives under SF86-52.

Estimate
£180,000 - 250,000 

Contemporary Art

22 June 2007, 4pm & 5pm
London