Azure

Sam Gilliam was raised in a large family, and in an effort to keep him busy, his mother introduced him to art at a young age. Although born in Mississippi, Gilliam spent his formative years in Louisville, Kentucky, where he received his BA and MA in painting from the University of Louisville. Working in the style of Abstract Expressionism, Gilliam was influenced by Jackson Pollock’s poured paintings and Helen Frankenthaler’s and Morris Louis’ stained canvases. Gilliam continues to reinterpret abstract painting through his use of saturated color, improvised materials, and unconventional application of paint.

Azure is exemplary of Gilliam’s interest in and exploration of painterly depth and frontality. He often mixes acrylic paint with marble dust to produce a dense and tactile medium that, when applied, produces a surface similar to stucco. The painting is primarily black with pours and spills of peach and dark green. In the lower center, canvas strips are collaged onto the surface to achieve added texture and actual depth. The noticeably raised collage radiates from the most centralized rectangle, establishing a focal point. Unlike the dense ground, the strips are loosely stained, leaving the weave of the canvas visible. Gilliam’s use of layered coats of color and collage draws attention to the means by which he creates his art.