The Calligraphy
Works
1957-1963
The Calligraphy
Works
1957-1963
“Some of the older Chinese drawings are much more abstract than anything done today. I adapted their rhythm and free motion to develop my own abstract painting.”
— Vivian Springford
Springford worked in this style from 1957 to 1963, painting in oil to create broad gestural works that were heavily inspired by Chinese calligraphy and other forms of Eastern thought. She emphasized the importance of direct, intentional mark making in this body of work, and the significance of accepting its immediate finality rather than reworking a composition. The expressive brushwork on display here marks some of Springford’s earliest explorations into abstraction.
Selected Works
Vivian Springford, Chaos Series IV, c.1959
Acrylic on canvas, 68 x 52.5 in
Exhibited "Vivian Springford, Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo, 2021. Collection Vivian Springford Archive.
Vivian Springford, Chaos Series IV, c.1962, Acrylic on rice paper mounted on canvas, 27 x 52 in, Collection Vivian Springford Archive.
Vivian Springford, Untitled, 1962 Acrylic on canvas, 72 x 70 in, Collection Vivian Springford Archive.
Vivian Springford, Untitled from Chaos Series, 1962 Acrylic on canvas, 56 1/2 x 52 1/2 in, Collection Vivian Springford Archive.
Vivian Springford, Untitled, Calligraphy Series, ca.1962
Acrylic on rice paper mounted on canvas, 27 x 52 in, Collection Vivian Springford Archive.
Vivian Springford, Chaos Series 17, 1960 Acrylic on canvas, 40.5 x 50.5 in, This work was included in Vivian Springford's first exhibition "Vivian Springford," Great Jones Gallery, NY, 1960, Collection Vivian Springford Archive.
Vivian Springford, Untitled from Chaos Series, 1962 Acrylic on canvas, 68 x 52 1/2 in, Collection Vivian Springford Archive.
Vivian Springford, Untitled, Chaos Series, 1960 Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 22 in, Collection Vivian Springford Archive.
Vivian Springford, Untitled (Brahmin and the Mongoose Series), c.1957 Oil on canvas, 30 x 34 in, Collection Vivian Springford Archive.
Vivian Springford, Untitled, 1960
Acrylic on canvas, 52 3/4 x 52 1/2 in
Collection Vivian Springford Archive.
Vivian Springford, Untitled from Chaos Series, 1960
Acrylic on canvas, 10 x 18 in, Collection Vivian Springford Archive.
Vivian Springford, Works from Chaos Series, ca.1958, Collection Vivian Springford Archive.
Vivian Springford, Untitled (Brahmin and the Mongoose Series), c.1957 Oil on canvas, 22 x 30 in, Collection Vivian Springford Archive.
Vivian Springford, Rice Paper Mounting III, c.1962-1963 Acrylic on rice paper mounted on canvas, 24 x 47.5 in, Collection Vivian Springford Archive.
Vivian Springford, Untitled, from Calligraphy Series, 1960
Acrylic and crayon on paper, 18 x 23 1/2 in, Collection Vivian Springford Archive.
Vivian Springford, Chaos, from Chaos Series, 1962
Acrylic on rice paper mounted on canvas, 24 x 47 in, Collection Vivian Springford Archive.