The present work originated from Vivian Springford’s Scuba Series begun in the later part of the artist's life and filled by kaleidoscopic and aquatic gestures, swirling with vibrant mineral colors and fluid shapes of organic form. Here, the texture and surface of the artist's mixed medium along with her staining process allows for a natural seeping and absorbing phenomena to take place. Resulting in a feathery effect, recalling the stain on a melted popsicle or evaporated seawater, Springford's layered, sheer paint undulates the surface of her atmospheric paintings. The Scuba Series represents the culmination of the artist's development of technique and aesthetic vision; with a focus on materiality and fluidity, Springford highlights the power of natural forces, beyond our control.

Vivian Springford, born in 1914, was an Abstract Expressionist artist known early in her career for her Black Paintings of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, educated at the Spence School in New York City, then studied at the Art Students League. Originally a portrait artist, she illustrated Albert Carr's 1938 book Juggernaut with portraits of 20 political dictators from the Napoleonic era to the early 20th century. Fellow painter Walasse Ting introduced the artist to Chinese culture, in which calligraphy, Taoism, and Confucianism would heavily inspire her. She was championed by writers Howard DeVree and Harold Rosenberg, who helped Springford open her first show in 1960 at Great Jones Gallery. 1974 brought her actively into Women in the Arts (WIA), the group that had staged famous protests at the Whitney and Museum of Modern Art of her gender's underrepresentation.

Recently acquired by the Guggenheim Museum, Springford's work is now earning the international recognition unquestionably deserved. Springford's paintings have been exhibited with Gary Snyder Fine Art, New York and Almine Rech Gallery. Her work has been featured internationally at Song Art Museum, Beijing, Fondation Vincent Van Gogh, and most recently included in Action, Gesture, Paint: Women Artists and Global Abstraction 1940 – 1970 at Whitechapel Gallery, London. The artist passed away in 2003 and her estate is represented by Almine Rech Gallery.