Tempo 1965

Sam Gilliam made Tempo with a focused energy, laying down confident, pale strokes on a deep grey field. Imagine the concentration it took to make those lines so crisp! I wonder if Gilliam was thinking about musical composition when he made this? It's almost like a score, and he was deeply involved with jazz. The simple, diagonal lines seem to vibrate, creating a feeling of forward movement. It looks like he's used thin layers of paint, building up subtle tonal shifts. Gilliam was part of a generation of artists who were expanding the possibilities of abstraction. Looking at this, I'm reminded of Agnes Martin's subtle grids, but Gilliam brings a different kind of energy, a kind of improvisational spirit. Painters are always in conversation with each other, borrowing and transforming ideas. Tempo is a great reminder that painting can be both structured and free. It's about finding the rhythm in the process.