December 2014 Newsletter

#CreativityMatters An inspiring series of roundtable discussions tackling the topic of Creativity in Learning, the Sam Francis Foundation's signature community program, Creativity Matters, has generated all kinds of excitement and energy across the country. In honor of Sam's legacy, the foundation is committed to promoting creativity as a fundamental 21st century skill and leading the campaign to build creative capacity in K-12 students. To learn more and join the conversation, follow along on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Come Visit Our Online Store On Dec 1st we are launching our new online store. It will feature rare books from Sam's publishing house, The Lapis Press, vintage exhibition posters, a variety of stationery items, apparel and much more. We are kicking off with a sale: 10% off all our products from Dec 1st–7th, including our specially-curated gift sets. It's the perfect way to share some of Sam's legacy with your family and friends for the holiday season!

Sam Francis Around the World Untitled (1990) exhibited by Galerie Diane de Polignac was recently highlighted by W Magazine as a must-see piece in The Salon Art & Design Fair in New York City. This week, keep your eyes open for works of his on display during Art Basel Miami Beach (December 2–7), including Art Miami & Untitled.

Sam Francis Foundation Launches Campaign for Creativity in Learning

For Immediate Release

November 2014: Sam Francis Foundation launches signature community program, Creativity Matters, with four roundtables across America.

In collaboration with researchers from the Harvard School of Education’s, Project Zero, the Los Angeles based artist foundation will tackle the subject of, “Creativity in Learning” at the following four locations: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston on October 29th, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on October 31st, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art on November 7th and finally, The Exploratorium in San Francisco on November 17th. 

After months of intensive research exploring work being done by organizations and individuals on this topic, we are bringing together a robust network of researchers, thinkers and practitioners, to discuss the complex issues related to learning in the 21st century. 

The roundtable conversations will focus on 3 questions: 

    - What does creativity look like, today and tomorrow? 

    - Under what conditions does creativity thrive?
    - How do we nurture and support it? 

From this series of discussions, the Sam Francis Foundation hopes to come away with a shared point of view about the challenges and opportunities inherent in the notion of bringing, “Creativity in Learning” to the forefront of our educational practice. Our goal is to understand where we can help and how we can make a difference. 

Join the conversation by following along on Twitter (@crtvtymttrs), Facebook (@Creativity Matters) and Instagram (@Creativitymatters14). The roundtables will be live-tweeted and followers are encouraged to participate by posting with the following hashtags: #SFF4Creativity 

As President Obama stated in his September, 2014 Presidential Proclamation, “To meet the challenges ahead, we must harness the skills and ingenuity of our children and grandchildren and instill in them the same passion and persistence that has driven centuries of progress and innovation. The arts and humanities provide important opportunities for our young people to unleash their creativity and reach for new heights.” 

Media Contact:

Carter Goffigon

carter@samfrancisfoundation.org

626.460.8551

Sam Francis Foundation 26 E. Colorado Blvd., Suite 7 Pasadena, CA 91105

T: 626.460.8551    F: 818.246.6690
www.samfrancisfoundation.org    info@samfrancisfoundation.org

Thanks to UNIQLO, FreeArts NYC and MoMA, 40 NY Kids Made Sam Francis Inspired T-Shirts

On Saturday October 18, over 50 UNIQLO staff members joined FreeArts NYC to welcome 40 children from homeless shelters in Brooklyn and Queens, for a special event. The children made t-shirts based on the work of American abstract artist Sam Francis whose merchandise was launched in stores earlier this month. After going on a tour of the 5th Ave UNIQLO Store, the children learned about Sam Francis from Leah Wolff, a program educator from MoMA. The children were also encouraged to talk about their feelings about art in general.

The children, who were recommended by the NY Department of Homeless Services, were from 6 to 12 years old, and came from the Boulevard Family Center in Queens and Urban Transitional Center in Brooklyn. These children don’t have the opportunity or means in their everyday settings to be able to express themselves through art. Giving them the opportunity to do so, was extremely meaningful for the children, as many of the children described the event as, “the best day…” and told us that their dream was to be a fashion designer or artist. FreeArts NYC, made the event possible by providing all of the supplies and additional support for the event. 

Images courtesy of UNIQLO

 

 

Before the children made their t shirts, they drew and painted their ideas on sheets of paper that they were able to take home. In addition, Sam Francis postcards and journals were graciously donated from the Sam Francis Foundation and given to the children as a souvenir.

Leah Wolff, from the MoMA uses Sam Francis SPRZ shirts as examples 

of how to make their t-shirts and to discuss the use of color and shapes.

October 2014 Newsletter

The Latest As the first installment of Creativity Matters, the Foundation is gearing up to host 4 roundtables exploring the topic of Creativity in Learning, in collaboration with Project Zero, the research arm of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Held at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Exploratorium in San Francisco and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Los Angeles, the events will convene thought leaders in the field of creativity, coming from a wide range of personal and professional backgrounds. Stay tuned for highlights of the conversations by following us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram! The fast-growing Japanese retailer Uniqlo recently set up a partnership with MoMA, featuring works by key artists in their apparel collection. Amidst the ranks of Warhol, Basquiat, Holzer, Pollock and more, comes the limited edition Sam Francis Collection! The t-shirts are available online and in stores worldwide.   THIS FRIDAY, OCT. 17TH, is Family Art Night at the Norton Simon Museum: Find new ways to look at and explore the Museum’s monumental Sam Francis painting. Discuss Basel Mural I with an educator, taking time to look and describe before forming your own creative interpretation of this inspiring piece. On top of a fresh new look, our new website will also feature an online store. Clothing, journals, postcards, limited edition posters, catalogs and out-of-print books from Lapis Press, Sam's former publishing house, will all be available. Unique and personal gifts to share with your loved ones for the holidays and proceeds will support the Foundation's signature program, Creativity Matters. On View In a recently opened show, Leslie Sacks Fine Art (Brentwood, CA) is showing key pieces from abstract artists of the past century. Sam Francis is featured alongside peers and friends such as Diebenkorn & Johns. On view until mid-November.   Opening on November 4th, Bernard Jacobson's New York gallery will be showing "Impressions: The Fine Art of Original Prints," featuring works by Sam Francis, Sol LeWitt, Robert Motherwell and Ed Ruscha. On display until December 20th.   COMING SOON! Galerie Jörg Schuhmacher will be hosting a tribute solo show of Sam's works in the Galerie Schwind space in historic Frankfurt, Germany. The exhibition opens on November 15th, 2014, and will feature a catalogue published specifically for the occasion.   Sam Francis' work was recently featured in "International Exchanges: Modern Art & St. Ives 1915-1965," held at Tate St. Ives from May 17 - September 28, 2014. Now, the show is heading to Middlesborough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA). Catch Grey Space(1950-51), Lovely Blueness No.2 (1955-1956) and Around the Blues(1957/1962) amongst the works of Barbara Hepworth, Wassily Kandinsky & Mark Rothko from October 24, 2014 - January 25, 2015. Until February 2016, In Lovely Blueness No.1 (1955-1957) will be on view at the Centre Pompidou Metz, 3 hours east of Paris. Visitors can re-discover it amongst other astounding works in the exhibition entitled "Phares," featuring monumental works from the Pompidou and French National Museum of Modern Art collections. The Huntington recently published their latest catalog, titled "American Made," and features Sam's Free Floating Clouds (1980), which is also up on display at the venue. Sam's Red in Red (1955) and The Beaubourg (1977) are on display at the newly inaugurated Anderson Collection at Stanford University. Get a glimpse of the expansive set-up here. News & Press

Around Us Day and Night (1989) was recently featured in the exhibition held at the Princeton University Art Museum, displaying work from the collection of Preston H. Haskell, from the class of 1960. Catalogue coming soon. Are you subscribed to ArtNews? Keep an eye out for news about the Sam Francis Foundation in the November issue. Coming up in the next edition of "Philadelphia Museum of Art: Handbook of Collections," art aficionados will have a chance to see Sam's Red(1955-56). From Disappearance (1957) and Untitled (1965) were recently shown in Sotheby's S|2 show "Born in a Minute: Color Field Painting from the 50s-70s," in New York City. View the full digital catalog here.

Uniqlo images copyright © Uniqlo, Japan. Norton Simon painting copyright © 2014 Norton Simon Museum Leslie Sacks Fine Art image copyright © Leslie Sacks Fine Art Galleries. Bernard Jacobson image copyright © Bernard Jacobson Galleries. Galerie Jörg Schuhmacher image copyright © Galerie Jörg Schuhmacher. Huntington image copyright © Tim Street Porter. Images for Pompidou Metz and Princeton from Google Images. All Sam Francis images copyright © 2014 Sam Francis Foundation, California / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Mixed up! Curated by Shingo Francis at the Galerie Paris, Yokohama

MIXED UP!      

July 31st - August 20th, 2014     

Opening reception: July 31st, 9:00pm~

Artists:

Taiyo Kimura

Bodo Korsig

Kaori Tazoe

Shingo Francis

Galerie Paris 

Mitsui Busan Build. 1F  

14 Nihon Oodori

Naka-ku, Yokohama 

E-mail: info@galerieparis.net

GALERIE PARIS is pleased to announce the international group exhibition Mixed Up! curated by artist Shingo Francis, featuring works by Taiyo Kimura , Bodo Korsig and Kaori Tazoe. 

Mixed Up! comments on the individual, existential aspect of art making versus the shared exchange of knowledge and ideas found in the art community. No matter how removed one tries to become, the history and personal contact an artist is exposed to perhaps informs the work. 

As a satellite project of the 5th edition of the Yokohama Triennale, the international contemporary art exhibition held every three years, this special group exhibition examines the subject of space, resonating with the historical attributes which Yokohama and the Mitsui Bussan building, where GALERIE PARIS is located, has to offer. An artist panel discussion is scheduled for the public. In this exhibition we bring together four artists working in three separate continents and who have developed their own individual studio practices. 

The concept of a group exhibition challenges the idea of a "group", something deemed to have a coherence and inherent relationship. Besides identifying themselves as artists, we pose the question of what these artists have in common? How their artistic practice relate as contemporary artists and peers? Mixed Up! explores this question of bringing together a group of artist under one theme and in this case, a single space. History has repeated this concept of a group show starting from the days of the Salon in 17th century Europe. 

The question we would like the viewer to ask himself is: is this a successful model for presenting an artist's work? Does the reality of being an artist and being exposed to history and a broader art world create a cohesiveness that is interesting or helpful to the artist's practice? What relations de we see in their practice? Is a group show a means to a economic and practical ends given how many artists there are relative to opportunities for exposure? 

Or can a group show be as cohesive as a singular exhibition by one artist? Ultimately, what is the true value of a group show? I argue that I wanted to exhibit along side my peers to mix the results of our studio practice under one banner and theme. Allowing the random selection of work each artist brings to the exhibition determine the answers to the questions previously posed in this essay. 

Let's mix it up and see! 

- Shingo Francis