Born in San Mateo, California, Sam Francis was an influential American abstract expressionist painter and printmaker who’s artistic career spanned several decades, during which he achieved international recognition for his vibrant and expressive artworks. Francis initially studied botany, medicine, and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, before being drafted into the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. It was during his hospitalization for a wartime injury that he first took up painting as a form of therapy. This experience sparked his passion for art, leading him to pursue formal training in painting, ultimately achieving a BA and an MA from the University of California where he studied under Davis Park.
Francis quickly gained recognition for his bold and colorful paintings characterized by their luminous hues, fluid brushwork, and expansive compositions. He became associated with the second generation of abstract expressionism, often referred to as the "post-painterly abstraction" movement. Throughout his career, Francis experimented with various techniques and media. He was known for his expertise in printmaking, particularly lithography and monotype, which allowed him to explore different textures and mark-making possibilities. His print works showcased the same vibrancy and fluidity as his paintings.
Sam Francis' work can be found in major museum collections worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the Tate Modern in London, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. His contributions to abstract expressionism and his innovative use of color and space have left a lasting impact on the art world. Today, he is regarded as one of the leading figures of post-war American abstraction, celebrated for his unique visual language and his ability to evoke profound emotions through his art.
Abstract 1960 was a gift to Japanese artist Morio Shinoda and his wife Yu. Francis’s first trip to Tokyo in the mid 1950s was part of French critic Michel Tapié’s mission to ally Art Informel with the avant-garde Gutai group. Francis developed a lifelong affinity for Japanese art and culture that profoundly influenced his work. His expressive handling of negative spaces, for example, evokes the Japanese concept of ma—the dynamic between form and non-form.
Beginning with his second visit to Japan in 1960, as Francis began painting there for long stretches, Francis began infusing the overarching tenets of East Asian art into his own. As his knowledge base grew, Francis began collecting Imari, Kutani, and Karatsu pottery, yamato-e and kanga paintings, and Edo-Period makura-e (erotic scenes called “pillow pictures”). He also made a point to watch Zen monks painting in the hatsuboku style of splashed ink, a technique with similarities to his own style.
Francis worked predominantly with color, but his preference for fluid mediums (including oil, ink, watercolor, and tusche for his lithographs), as well as his gestural application and preference for working on the horizontal plane (rather than the vertical, as on a wall or easel), suggests a connection to calligraphy. Abstract 1960 demonstrates the artists fluid brush strokes in a circular shape, curving inward towards the center as if creating a “character”. The black paint flows over the blue, yellow, and red along with the gestural paint splattering displaying Francis’ Abstract Expressionist roots.