Abstract Expressionism was a movement in American painting that flourished from the mid-1940’s to the mid-1950’s. The Abstract Expressionists developed a revolutionary approach to the nature and purpose of painting. They influenced artists in many countries.
The Abstract Expressionists rejected many of the customs and rules of earlier art. They did not paint traditional pictures that told a story or created the appearance of reality. Instead, the Abstract Expressionists emphasized color, the physical qualities of paint, and the enveloping character of large paintings.
The Abstract Expressionist movement was more a philosophical attitude than a particular style. For example, certain Abstract Expressionist works feature many shapes and thick paint, while others are exceptionally simple and thinly painted. Some of the painters deliberately left portions of the canvas unpainted to provide a contrast with the painted areas. But all the diverse personalities in this movement shared the belief that both the figurative and abstract traditions of modern art could be used freely to express their immediate feelings and their attitude toward life. They maintained that no matter how abstract their paintings appeared, there was always an underlying serious subject.
One of the important Abstract Expressionists was Jackson Pollock . He placed his canvas on the floor and dripped and splattered the paint from above. This technique led some critics to call Pollock and certain other members of the movement action painters. Other leading Abstract Expressionists included Willem De Kooning , Helen Frankenthaler , Arshile Gorky , Adolph Gottlieb , Philip Guston , Franz Kline , Joan Mitchell , Robert Motherwell , Barnett Newman , Mark Rothko , Clyfford Still , and Bradley Walker Tomlin .
See also Painting (Abstract expressionism) .
