08/27/2026
“Hard Drug Problems” (2022) by Zach Frank
30” x 24” | Acrylic on Canvas | Los Angeles, California
Color theory was one of the first major lessons Zach Frank encountered during his undergraduate studies. While the strenuous assignments of his Foundations classes may have seemed less significant to the developing artist at the time, the lessons in color, composition, and conceptualization have remained with him ever since.
One assignment in particular was a study of “vibrating colors,” where students were challenged to create a composition using colors so aggressively opposed that they appeared to vibrate against one another. Zach received an A on the assignment, further validating his fascination with hyperactivity, controlled chaos, and highly saturated color. Many of the shapes in that original study were triangles, a form he has since often associated with the general shape of his acrylic dabs.
Years later, those early explorations became an important foundation for Hard Drug Problems. The painting is composed of 13 triangles, each requiring up to 20 different tones to achieve its smooth gradient. More than 200 individual color mixtures were created for the painting, which contains exactly 25,000 acrylic dabs.
After moving to Sherman Oaks, Zach became determined to challenge himself further with gradients and checkerboard patterns. The title is not intended to suggest addiction; rather, it addresses the problems surrounding drug use and its effects. The painting reflects on the complicated nature of substances that can be fascinating and inspiring to some, while also being harmful and detrimental to their wellbeing.
The word “Hard” carries a deliberate double meaning, referencing both the subject matter and the difficulty of creating the painting itself. Like many works in the Problems series, the title was chosen to provoke thought and curiosity while allowing multiple interpretations to exist within the same composition.
Hard Drug Problems has now been featured in three Problems exhibitions, continuing its history as one of the recurring works within the evolving series.
