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SAM GILLIAM
(American, born 1933)

Sam Gilliam began his career during the 1950s as an art student at the University of Louisville, where he studied painting. During the 1960s, Gilliam was part of a movement known as color-field painting that favored color over other concerns. His more recent work has included sculptural paintings and multi-media installations.

Regarding these paintings, the artist has explained, "I’d like you to go into the painting as much as you look at it. And not lose identity with the titles, but let the titles sort of lead you in a certain sense with your eyes closed as to what the painting is about. And I think that I don’t want to determine exactly what you think, because the only way you will really find out what the painting is about is to come back several times. And that is what I am trying to do, to set up sort of an enigma that you will carry away and then come back."

In creating these works of art, Gilliam first applied a soft acrylic paint onto fabric. While the paint was still wet, he raked the surface with special tools to create the paintings’ distinct texture. Finally, the work was cut apart and reassembled in the current configuration.

To see work by Sam Gilliam in the collection of the University of Kentucky Art Museum, click here.