Untitled (Holy Hole) 1984

Sam Francis made this untitled work with paint on canvas. The artist poured, dripped, and splattered the material onto the surface. The paint application is the essence of the image; in a sense, the process is the content. Francis's work is embedded in the history of modernist painting. In the mid-20th century, there was a move away from depicting recognizable scenes towards pure abstraction, with a focus on the physical properties of paint, like color, viscosity, and surface texture. The amount of chance and improvisation involved, valued especially by the Surrealists, had expanded. Techniques like staining, pouring, and splattering became more prominent. These methods may look spontaneous, yet achieving this ‘thrown’ effect required great control. As in the crafts, a deep knowledge of materials allowed Francis to explore the boundary between intention and accident. The result invites us to appreciate both the color itself and the labor involved in coaxing it across the canvas.