Savage Breeze

Helen Frankenthaler’s “Savage Breeze” (1974) captures the nuance and complexity in the artist’s printmaking process, experimenting with form and color in responsive, improvisational, yet highly intricate ways. Turning to the techniques employed in Japanese Ukiyo-e prints that fused ink and woodblock in a seamless manner, “Savage Breeze” illuminates a singular delicacy that contributes to the print’s organic character. Forty-four days were spent proofing all possible iterations on the press before settling on the eight blocks and seven colors of “Savage Breeze”.