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Phase

Sam Gilliam American
1974
Not on view
Gilliam once stated, "I choreograph the color in terms of the way I want it to be seen." In Phase, a range of vibrant tones and fluid gestures that recall drips, splatters, stains, and strokes work in tandem to transmit an abundance of detail and emotional energy. The print possesses a sense of luminosity reminiscent of stained-glass windows: crisscrossing bands in lush tones of red create a latticelike structure, while shimmering colors with various degrees of translucency are irregularly interspersed across the surface like dappled light. Phase conjures the improvisation and experimentation found in Gilliam’s monumental color-stained canvases known as the drape paintings, yet because it is a screenprint, each color, mark, and gesture had to be carefully planned and a strict order followed in its creation.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Phase
  • Artist: Sam Gilliam (American, born Tupelo, Mississippi, 1933–2022 Washington, D.C.)
  • Date: 1974
  • Medium: Screenprint
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 29 1/2 × 29 5/8 in. (74.9 × 75.2 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Purchase, International Fine Print Dealers Association Gift, 2019
  • Object Number: 2019.97
  • Rights and Reproduction: © Estate of Sam Gilliam
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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Leah's Renoir, Sam Gilliam American, Acrylic on canvas with collage sections
Leah's Renoir
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Whirlirama, Sam Gilliam American, Acrylic on canvas
Whirlirama
Sam Gilliam
1970
Carousel State, Sam Gilliam American, Acrylic and aluminum powder on canvas
Carousel State
Sam Gilliam
1968
Pyramid, Sam Gilliam American, Wood, stain, lacquer, and aluminum
Returned to lender
Pyramid
Sam Gilliam
2020
Nile, Sam Gilliam American, Lithograph
Returned to lender
Nile
Sam Gilliam
1972

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