Sam Francis plays a prominent role in post-war American painting yet is also associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement; drawing inspiration from, amongst others, the work of Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko. The artist also experienced extensive exposure to French and Japanese art and these eclectic examples had a unique effect on the subsequent development of his diverse colour palette and explain the suggested element of calligraphy in his work.

In the 1970’s Francis’ work featured the use of hard colour and regimented structure, yet his stylistic transition throughout the subsequent decade tended towards these less rigid configurations and more expressive uses of colour. Join the Chaos exemplifies his latest stylistic approach, utilising a mixture of dripping and gesturing techniques to create ‘islands of colours’ on white canvases. The combination of these explosions of colour with the vast, stark, white backgrounds creates highly expressive compositions. The round canvas is cropped to size and, due to its circular format and continuation out of the picture plane, emphasises the dynamic forms depicted and evokes the inclusive chaos inferred by the title of the piece itself. Join the Chaos thus perfectly transmits Francis’ appreciation of painting as a depiction of “the beauty of space and the power of containment.”