Sam Francis: From Dusk to Dawn

An exhibition of paintings by the acclaimed California artist Sam Francis on view at Heather James Fine Art, Palm Desert, from November 15, 2018, through April 29, 2019.

Drawing upon diverse influences including Fauvism, French Impressionism and Modernism, Color Field painting, and Japanese calligraphy, Francis is considered a central figure of the second generation of Abstract Expressionists whose pioneering style helped to establish the movement on the West Coast and internationally.

Comprising over 28 paintings and works on paper, spanning from 1955 to 1994, Sam Francis: From Dusk to Dawn includes works from the Sam Francis Foundation, and Kaare Berntsen Collection, among others. Featuring 18 paintings completed shortly before the artist’s death in 1994 placed alongside more than 20 seminal works from 1955 through 1986, the exhibition chronicles how Francis’s lifelong dedication to exploring the many different ways color, space, and light can convey emotion and meaning advanced the standing of abstract painting both here and abroad.

Standouts on view include Untitled, 1961-62, from his prominent Blue Balls series, which he first began in Paris during the early 1960’s, and A Whirling Square, 1975, a monumental oil on canvas from the collection of Francis’s daughter, Kayo Francis Malik, on view for the first time in over 20 years.   Read More