With the immense “Vir Heroicus Sublimins” (“Man, Heroic and Sublime”), Abstract Expressionist Barnett Newman answered his own question of how sublime art could be created in an era lacking sublime legends. Symbolic and spiritual, the work represents higher levels of being. Newman (1905 – 1970) expanded Abstract Expressionist norms with broad areas of bright red split by vertical lines he called “zips,” which possibly symbolize humans within a void. Hoping viewers would stand near the enormous painting, Newman intended the experience to feel like an encounter with another person.

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.