Sam Gilliam on Inspiration, Part II

At Thursday night’s in-gallery conversation with painter Sam Gilliam, curator Renee Maurer asked the artist what works in the Phillips inspired him. He smiled and answered, “Well, there are those magnolia trees in front of the museum.” Throughout the talk, it occurred to me that Mr. Gilliam cited experiences in nature  as artistic sources almost as frequently as he did artworks, such as Kenneth Noland’s April […]