Sam Gilliam

Sam Gilliam (1933-2022) was a groundbreaking American abstract painter, sculptor, and educator, renowned for pushing the boundaries between painting and sculpture. Born in Mississippi and raised in Kentucky, Gilliam eventually became a central figure in the Washington, D.C. art scene, often described as its "dean." His early artistic journey saw him experimenting with expressionistic figurative painting, influenced by artists like Richard Diebenkorn and Nathan Oliveira, as s…