Sam Francis

Sam Francis is an American postwar painter associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement. A native of California, Francis moved to Paris in the early 1950s, a formative period during which the artist was influenced by Tachisme, Informel, Monet’s Waterlilies and friendships with artists including Joan Mitchell and Al Held, as well as the Matisse family and the critic Michel Tapié. Gradually opening his paintings through use of the white of the canvas, and increasingly loose paint, Francis arrived at his iconic Edge Paintings in 1965. The Edge Paintings feature gestural applications of paint at the edges of the field, leaving the center an unpainted void. Francis’ exploration of subject through its negation within the confines of the picture plane contributed significantly to the ideological and conceptual foundation for the California Light and Space movement.

Francis lived and worked in numerous cities including Paris, Tokyo and Los Angeles. His work is currently exhibited at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, The Kunstmuseum Basel, the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, and others. He participated in 113 solo exhibitions in museums and galleries during his lifetime, and over 90 exhibitions since his death.