Art Institute of Chicago

Fire

Sam Gilliam

1972

Attribution

Sam Gilliam American, 1933-2022

Medium

Color lithograph on white Japanese paper

Physical dimensions

61 × 48 cm (24 1/16 × 18 15/16 in.)

Credit line

Gift of Mr. Carl Horn

From the museum

Sam Gilliam’s Fire is among the artist’s first engagements with printmaking, which became an ongoing part of his artistic practice. The work, a color lithograph, departed from the majority of contemporary printmaking, which primarily focused on political commentary. Here, instead, Gilliam created a visually lush, abstract image printed in thin areas of color layered over one another. The title offers one interpretation of the work: a vertical red ember of a flame whose heat lessens as it moves out toward the edges of the sheet to become a cool blue. Gilliam produced Fire in collaboration with the printer at Impressions Workshop in Boston.

Description: Art Institute of Chicago · CC BY 4.0