The diluted colors, collaged rectilinear shapes, and mottled surface of this work create an abiding sense of movement. The work’s diamond orientation also recalls a geometric, patterned star, as the title suggests. A member of the Washington Color School, Howard Mehring was influenced by abstract expressionism, jazz, the color field movement, and the national political turmoil of the 1960s. Mehring underwent several stylistic shifts before arriving at the hard-edge paintings for his he is best known. While earlier works featured a painted “all-over” technique to generate a field of color, Dark Star illustrates a method of arranging cut and collaged painted canvas to create a composition that is both patterned and geometric.