Circum I

Morris Louis Circum I from 1959-60 is an acrylic resin on canvas painting that belongs to the series of circum paintings in which Louis explored the possibilities of concentric and circumferential chromatic forms, creating compositions in which color flows around the canvas in arcs and curves that suggest both cosmic orbits and the circumferential movement of paint across the surface. The title Circum, from the Latin prefix meaning around, signals Louis interest in the circumferential movement of paint that characterizes this series, in contrast to the vertical veils of his earlier work and the unfurled paintings of his later period. The acrylic resin medium, which Louis applied by pouring and manipulating the canvas to control the flow of the thinned paint, creates bands of color that curve around the canvas in arcs that follow the natural movement of liquid across a tilted surface. The years 1959-60 bracket the period when Louis was producing his most innovative work in the stain painting technique, and the Circum series represents a significant development in his approach to color, moving from the vertical veil format to a more circumferential and spatially complex composition that anticipates the unfurled paintings of his final period.

The Circum series represents a significant development in Louis oeuvre, demonstrating his ability to find new compositional possibilities within the stain painting technique. Circum I influenced the development of Color Field painting and the broader tradition of chromatic abstraction by demonstrating that stain painting could accommodate circumferential and curvilinear forms.

A 1959-60 acrylic resin painting by Louis from the Circum series, with thinned paint flowing in circumferential arcs across the canvas in a compositional development from vertical veils that anticipates his unfurled paintings.