Though American painter Franz Kline trained as an illustrator and produced representational works early on in his career, he is best known for making large black and white abstract action paintings. Similar to his fellow Abstract Expressionists, Kline employed bold, energetic brushstrokes and frequently used ordinary house paint. His work is often deceiving in its appearance of spontaneity. Starting with a primed canvas and alternating between black and white, Kline mixed paint directly on the surface in a purposefully uneven application. The result is a dynamic blend of glossy passages and matte ones. The thick, textured black brushstrokes vibrate with energy; in contrast, the white paint appears calmly placed around and within the fields of black.

–Fanna Gebreyesus, from the Glenstone Field Guide