Edited by Sara Muthi. Foreword by Annie Fletcher. Introduction by Mary Cremin, Seán Kissane. Text by John Beardsley. Interview by Thelma Golden. Photographs by Mark Gulezian, Fredrik Nilsen, Lee Thompson.
Dedicated to Gilliam's late-career sewn and collaged fabric works, this colorful catalog embraces the artist's restless creativity and visionary approach to abstraction
A pioneering artist who redefined the boundaries of painting, Sam Gilliam (1933–2022) transformed the medium with his radical approach to color, material and space. Sewing Fields focuses on a lesser-known yet crucial period in Gilliam's later career: that of his sewn and collaged works. His residency at the Ballinglen Arts Foundation in 1993 reshaped his artistic practice. Far from his Washington, DC, studio, Gilliam embraced new materials, working with pre-stained fabrics that he shipped to Ireland, cutting and layering them into sculptural compositions. A collaboration with a local dressmaker further expanded his process, reinforcing his innovative fusion of painting and textile techniques. Sewing Fields brings these groundbreaking works back to the Irish Museum of Modern Art, nearly 50 years after Gilliam's first Dublin exhibition, positioning him within a broader transatlantic dialogue on abstraction.
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
Artforum
Barry Schwabsky
These paintings find a sweet spot in Gilliam’s oeuvre: stitched together, these rippling, looped sheets of color are more strictly constructed than the earlier works using single long rolls of raw canvas.
in stock $40.00
Free Shipping
UPS GROUND IN THE CONTINENTAL U.S. FOR CONSUMER ONLINE ORDERS
FORMAT: Pbk, 8.25 x 11 in. / 108 pgs / 55 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $40.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $55 GBP £32.00 ISBN: 9781909792326 PUBLISHER: Irish Museum of Modern Art AVAILABLE: 8/26/2025 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: WORLD
Published by Irish Museum of Modern Art. Edited by Sara Muthi. Foreword by Annie Fletcher. Introduction by Mary Cremin, Seán Kissane. Text by John Beardsley. Interview by Thelma Golden. Photographs by Mark Gulezian, Fredrik Nilsen, Lee Thompson.
Dedicated to Gilliam's late-career sewn and collaged fabric works, this colorful catalog embraces the artist's restless creativity and visionary approach to abstraction
A pioneering artist who redefined the boundaries of painting, Sam Gilliam (1933–2022) transformed the medium with his radical approach to color, material and space. Sewing Fields focuses on a lesser-known yet crucial period in Gilliam's later career: that of his sewn and collaged works. His residency at the Ballinglen Arts Foundation in 1993 reshaped his artistic practice. Far from his Washington, DC, studio, Gilliam embraced new materials, working with pre-stained fabrics that he shipped to Ireland, cutting and layering them into sculptural compositions. A collaboration with a local dressmaker further expanded his process, reinforcing his innovative fusion of painting and textile techniques. Sewing Fields brings these groundbreaking works back to the Irish Museum of Modern Art, nearly 50 years after Gilliam's first Dublin exhibition, positioning him within a broader transatlantic dialogue on abstraction.
