Free-flowing paint, continued. Janet Sobel, Hans Hoffman, and Jackson Pollock had, by the 1950s, explored the use of gravity as an assistant in their drip-based abstractions. Helen Frankenthaler, possibly inspired by Pollock’s implementation of raw, unsized and unprimed canvas in his late enamel pour paintings, took to using raw canvas and thinned-down colors to create delicate veils of paint that merged completely with the support. Other artists, Morris Louis included, quickly followed suit, and the practice was used by other Color Field painters, like Kenneth Noland.
Sam Gilliam’s Idylls I, 1970, is a stained canvas painting that has an additional element of flow and uncertainty: the canvas itself is intended to be suspended by cord from the wall, making its size and shape variable depending on the manner in which it was hung.
Irene Monat Stern and Paul Jenkins both used poured, flowing paint to create colorful, free-form shapes. Stern, like Frankenthaler, favored unsized canvas, while Jenkins worked on a surface primed with white paint for maximum chromatic impact.
Other artists worth considering include Sam Francis, Pat Lipsky, Alden Mason, Otto Piene, Pat Steir, and even, on one or two occasions, Andy Warhol.
Helen Frankenthaler (American 1928-2011). Eden 1956. Oil on unsized, unprimed canvas; 103 x 117 inches. Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, New York.
Morris Louis (American 1912-1962). Untitled 1958-9. Acrylic resin (Magna) on canvas, 101 x 138 inches. Source.
Sam Gilliam (American 1933-2022). Idylls I 1970. Acrylic, metallic paint, crayon, and synthetic cable on unstretched canvas; installation dimensions variable: 76 x 61 inches. Source.
Irene Monat Stern (American 1932-2010). Untitled c. 1970s. Acrylic on unprimed canvas, 57 x 94 inches. Source.
Paul Jenkins (American 1923-2012). Phenomena Rainbow Rush 1986. Acrylic on canvas, 58 x 82 inches. Source.
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