Self-Portrait 1973

Sam Francis made this self-portrait, sometime in the 20th century, from what looks like ink on paper. Isn't it interesting how a few simple marks can suggest so much? There's a real immediacy to this piece. The ink is thick and juicy in places, splattering out into thinner pools, creating textures that are both deliberate and accidental. You can almost feel the speed of Francis's hand as he laid down these marks, each one loaded with energy and direction. I particularly love the way the eye on the right is formed from a kind of swirling loop. It's both an eye and an abstract shape, existing in that liminal space between representation and pure form. It's this ambiguity that makes the piece so engaging; it’s a face, but it's also just ink on paper. Francis's work reminds me a little of Franz Kline, in the bold simplicity of the gestures, but there's also something uniquely intimate about this self-portrait. It reminds us that art is always a conversation, a back-and-forth between the artist, the materials, and the world around them.