Remembering Artist Sam Francis on his 90th Birthday

Samuel Lewis Francis

Born on June 25, 1923, San Mateo, California

Died: November 4, 1994, Santa Monica, California

"Color is born of the interpenetration of light and dark." - Sam Francis

A "Sneak Peek" of "Sam Francis: Five Decades of Abstract Expressionism" at PMCA

On Saturday, May 18th, the PMCA hosted a special “Sneak Peek” of the upcoming Sam Francis: Five Decades of Abstract Expressionism from California Collections for the museum’s newly formed Ambassador Circle.  Guests included PMCA Board members including Chairman David Partridge and his wife Cathie, as well lenders to the exhibition, PMCA Ambassador Gerald Buck and Nancy Escher among others.  Also in attendance were Janice Bea, Julie Ward and Diane Bedford, all members of the Pasadena Art Alliance, the renowned organization which awarded a grant in support of the exhibition.  

PCMA Executive Director Jenkins Shannon (left) with Sam Francis 

Foundation Director and Interim President Debra Burchett-Lere (right)

Co-curator of the exhibition and Sam Francis Foundation Director and Interim President, Debra Burchett-Lere told the story of Sam Francis’s life through a slide show of his oeuvre and its myriad of artistic styles as well as through  actual photographs of the artist. Sam Francis: Five Decades of Abstract Expressionism from California Collections, the first major museum exhibition of Francis’s work in over a decade. It brings together Francis’s paintings and unique works on paper from extraordinary public and private California collections, including many paintings on view to the public for the first time.

PCMA Chairman David Partridge speaks at the "Sneak Preview"

Opening Reception
Saturday, August 10, 7-9pm
Please join us for the opening of Sam Francis: Five Decades of Abstract Expressionism from California Collections.
$5 admission, free for PMCA Members

In Dialogue
Sunday, August 11, 3pm
Sam Francis: Five Decades of Abstract Expressionism from California Collections co-curators Debra Burchett-Lere and Peter Selz, Ph.D. and moderator Insert Name Here lend insight into Sam Francis’s artwork and its historical context. Panelists consider the artist’s various styles and influences, as well as his continuous exploration of color, light, and the spatial relationships in his works.
Free with admission

Film Night
Saturday, September 21, 6pm
Join us for a screening of the film, The Painter Sam Francis (85 minutes), by Jeffrey Perkins. The film re-traces Francis’s life and career and features an interview that Perkins conducted with his friend and mentor Sam Francis in 1973, as well as other interviews with friends, family, and fellow artists.
Free with admission

Insight Talk
Sunday, November 3, 3pm
Debra Burchett-Lere, co-curator of Sam Francis: Five Decades of Abstract Expressionism from California Collections, leads a walkthrough of the exhibition and discuss Sam Francis’s mastery of color and understanding of light through examples of paintings that span fifty years.
Free with admission 

For more information, visit http://www.pmcaonline.org/