Splatter paint skin abstract with foam brushes, unsigned, inscribed and dated verso: M.E. series #2 / 1986, unframed acrylic and metallic paint on panel mounted on wooden stretchers, 73.5'' H x 68'' W, est: $2000/3000
Note: Neil Williams, a shaped-canvas pioneer in 1960s New York, evolved his early shaped color-field paintings into sculptural collages by the 1970s. The present work, from 1986, and the following lot were created using dried skins of acrylic paint. First Williams painted acrylic sections onto glass and allowed them to dry. Then he scraped up the paint skins and applied them to prepared panels in dynamic raised arrangements. Further acrylic paint applied on the surface -- along with the playful inclusion of foam paint brushes and a paint scraper in the present work -- tie the structure and the sculptural skins together into a completely abstract riot of color and texture. Provenance: Property from a Corporate Collection, San Diego, CA

Visual: As-found condition. Accumulated surface dust and grime. Some scattered cracks and losses to the acrylic painted layers, a few likely intrinsic to creation. With 6 foam brushes and 1 paint scraper artist-mounted onto the painted surface. We recommend viewing this lot first-hand. Blacklight: No evidence of restoration under blacklight.