Light Violet (Lembark L20) - Sam Francis

A 1963 lithograph by Sam Francis, featuring gestural splashes of blue, red, and violet against an open, white background.

Light Violet (Lembark L20) is a lithograph by Sam Francis, created in 1963. This work displays the artist's characteristic approach to space and colour, where the white of the paper functions as an active element rather than a passive background. Francis, who spent significant time in Paris and Japan, developed a visual language that merged the gestural energy of American Abstract Expressionism with the spatial awareness found in Eastern aesthetics.

The composition is defined by clusters of pigment that appear to drift across the surface. Large, organic shapes in deep blue act as anchors, while smaller splashes and drips of red, yellow, and violet create a sense of movement. The application of ink varies from dense, saturated areas to thin, translucent washes, allowing the texture of the paper to remain visible. This technique creates a sense of depth, as if the forms are suspended in a void.

Francis often worked in series, exploring the possibilities of colour relationships through repetition and variation. In this print, the interaction between the primary colours and the violet tones suggests a controlled spontaneity. The edges of the forms are soft, suggesting the fluid nature of the medium during the printing process. By avoiding a central focus, the work encourages the eye to travel across the entire sheet, observing the balance between the clustered forms and the open, unprinted areas. This print is documented in the Lembark catalogue raisonné, which records the artist's extensive output in the medium of lithography during his career.