Triple Variants

Year1979

Classification painting

Medium acrylic and oil with aluminum powder, granite, aluminum beam

Dimensions14.99 x 40 ft. (457 x 1,219 cm)

Credits Commissioned through the Art in Architecture Program
Fine Arts Collection
U.S. General Services Administration

GSA commissioned artist Sam Gilliam to create Triple Variants for the lobby of the Richard B. Russell Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Atlanta. The artwork comprises a large unstretched canvas, an aluminum beam, and two large stones. The 15-by-40-foot canvas is the variety used for window awnings. The 17-foot-long aluminum beam rests on the floor, beneath the painted canvas. The third element of Gilliam's composition is a pair of boulders that sit next to the beam. On the canvas, Gilliam mainly used acrylic and oil paints with aluminum powder. According to the artist: "The colors were sought for, rather than made. The work was made on the floor by continuously folding the material. The final colors are the result of a rough raking of the wet surface of predominantly green, white, and grey colors over a red, yellow, and blue ground to produce a softened effect relative to the texture of the stones. The cuts and fabric openings are to allow the actual surface of the [wall] stones to come into the work."