No Brush, c.1987

Order, logic and purpose exist within the apparent chaos of “No Brush, 1987” by Sam Francis. Originally a student of botany, psychology and medicine, Francis (1923 – 1994) merged creativity with science in his art. His seemingly random, unstructured works were designed to show space, light, symmetry and patterns. The colors and forms of this piece evolved entirely from drips and splashes of paint in a style called Tachisme. A Zen Buddhist, Francis filled his art with yin and yang opposites, starting all of his pieces as black and white proofs, which intensified the final color prints.

Also known as silk screening, serigraphy is a process by which multiple layers of ink are manually pressed through fine screens, resulting in an art print that resembles a painting on paper.