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SAM GILLIAM
(American, born 1933)
Glisten, 1972
Acrylic on canvas
27 x 73 15/16 x 3”
Gift of Hugh C. Evans 1995.3

One of the country’s best-known African-American artists, Sam Gilliam has become internationally recognized for works that explore new forms of expression and new materials. Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, he moved with his family to Louisville, Kentucky in 1942. A graduate of the University of Louisville, he began his career in the Washington D.C. Color Field movement of the mid- to late-1960s. He is renowned for his vibrantly colored three-dimensional paintings, which are characterized by painted canvases that were draped and suspended off the wall, and shaped canvases coated with thick layers of acrylic paint. These compositions, which exist both on and off the wall, are intended to activate the viewers’ visual and physical space. Glisten, an early work that demonstrates Gilliam’s commitment to exploring the creative process, is a fusion of all-over surface texture and luminous color.