Rose
1994
Sam Gilliam's Rose from 1994 combines multiple artistic techniques including photographic emulsion, polymer, and acrylic paint applied to panels. The work is presented in the artist's custom frame, creating a unified composition. This piece exemplifies Gilliam's innovative approach to merging photography with traditional painting methods. The layering of materials creates depth and visual complexity across the surface. Rose demonstrates the artist's exploration of color and texture within a constructed framework.
- Medium
- photographic emulsion, polymer, and acrylic on panels in artist's frame
- Dimensions
- Location
- Wright, Chicago, United States
Notes
Signed, titled and dated to verso 'Rose 94 Sam Gilliam'. Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist in 1995 by the present owner
🔨 Auction Lot
Post War & Contemporary Art
May 14, 2026
Estimate: $40,000 to $60,000
Lot 233
Artists in conversation
Frank Bowling
British Guyanese · b. 1934
Bowling works with acrylic polymer mediums poured and layered on shaped or structured supports, creating luminous color fields with embedded photographic and material elements that share Gilliam's interest in surface texture and chromatic depth within a painterly abstraction framework.
Odili Donald Odita
American · b. 1966
Odita applies acrylic polymer in structured panels exploring color relationships and surface luminosity, producing works where material application and chromatic layering echo the specific combination of photographic emulsion and acrylic on panels seen in Gilliam's Rose.
Howardena Pindell
American · b. 1943
Pindell integrates photographic emulsion and mixed polymer media within acrylic painted surfaces on unconventional panel formats, combining photographic imagery with painterly abstraction in a way that closely mirrors the material and conceptual layering of Gilliam's Rose.
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