Abstract Expressionism

Contents :
What is Abstract Expressionism .
History of Abstract Expressionism.
Action Painting.
Color field painting.
Influence of abstract expressionism on contemporary art.
Notable Abstract expressionism Artists.
Conclusion Summery .

What is Abstract Expressionism ?

Abstract Expressionism is a modern art movement that developed in
New York City after World War II and was initially popular during the
1940s and 1950s. Abstract Expressionism is recognized for its large-
scale paintings consisting of large blocks of color and non-traditional
treatment of materials and processes. Abstract Expressionist artists
avoided grouping themselves by a cohesive artistic style but shared
an interest in expressing intense emotion and abstract subject matter
through their art.

History of Abstract Expressionism.

 Around the time of World War II, many artists fled from Europe
to the United States to escape the violence and destruction
caused by this war and left behind by World War I.
 Many of these artists settled in and around New York City and
began to cultivate their artistic practices in this new space. In
light of the destruction that many European cities faced along
with the influx of European artists to the United States, New
York City soon replaced Paris as the center of the Western art
world.
 he term Abstract Expressionism was first used to describe the
American art movement in 1946 by art critic Robert Coates.
However, abstract Expressionism was used as early as 1919 by
art writers to describe German Expressionism and later the
works of Wassily Kandinsky.
 Abstract Expressionism, on the other hand, became the name
of the American art movement, specifically, and by the 1940s,
American painting was elevated to the level of European
modernism.
 American Abstract Expressionism was influenced by existing
modernist movements such as
Surrealism, Fauvism and Synthetic Cubism which emerged
throughout the early twentieth century in France and Germany.
 Abstract Expressionism did not have a cohesive style. Instead it
had techniques and concepts that unified artists under the
umbrella of Abstract Expressionism. Abstract Expressionism
broke from the accepted conventions of modernist painting by
favoring an all-over composition and near-total abstraction of
subject matter
 Action painting and color field painting were two techniques
that Abstract Expressionist artists such as Jackson Pollock,
Willem de Kooning and Arshile Gorky used to manifest intense
emotional energy.
Action painting
 Action painting  was one of the artistic techniques that
influential Abstract Expressionists such as Jackson Pollock, Franz
Kline, Joan Mitchell, James Brooks and related artists used to
convey powerful emotions through the process of creating their
art. 
 Action painting involves the spontaneous application of paint to
a canvas that results in thick paint application, unpredictable
brushstrokes and painterly gestures.
  Abstract Expressionist painters often applied paint using a large
paint brush but sometimes abandoned traditional painting
tools crucial to Western European painting altogether and
threw paint onto the canvas directly from the container.

Color Field painting

 Color field painting is most recognizable in the work of
American painters Mark Rothko and Clyfford Still, where large,
flat areas of unbroken color were central to their paintings
rather than the gestural abstraction achieved through action
painting.
 While color field painting and action painting are distinct styles,
they both achieve the overall goal of Abstract Expressionism,
which was to be deeply expressive of intense emotion.
 Abstract and biomorphic shapes were popular in color field
painting and appear in the works of Abstract Expressionist
artists such as Helen Frankenthaler and Hans Hofmann. Hans
Hoffman immigrated to the United States in the 1930s and
trained artists to work with abstraction and color.
Influence of Abstract Expressionism on Contemporary
Art.
 In the 1960s, other forms of abstract painting emerged in
reaction to the Abstract Expressionist movement. Geometric
abstraction and hard-edge painting contrasted the organic and
biomorphic shapes that define Abstract Expressionist style.
 Minimalism was especially critical of art such as Abstract
Expressionism. 
 Pop Art was also a reaction to Abstract Expressionism and
encouraged the ongoing upward trajectory of New York City as
a cultural center and art hub incited by Abstract Expressionism.
 Though at first criticized, American Abstract Expressionism
influenced many artists and art movements that followed.
American painter Joan Mitchell, for example, was one of many
Abstract Expressionists who continued to paint in this style for
years to come. 
 Though painting was originally the most popular medium to
work with, Abstract Expressionism was also a popular style for
many collage artists and sculptors, who pushed the boundaries
of representation alongside their painter counterparts.

Notable Abstract expressionism Artists.

 Lee Krasner, 1908-1984, American
 Arshile Gorky, Armenian-American, 1904-1948
 Joan Mitchell, 1925-1992, American
 James Brooks, 1906-1992, American
 Jackson Pollock, 1912-1956, American
 Willem de Kooning, 1904-1997, Dutch-American
 Mark Rothko, 1903-1970, American
 Ruth Asawa, 1926-2013, American
 Franz Kline, 1910-1962, American
  Hans Hoffman, 1880-1996, German-American
 Adolph Gottlieb, 1903-1974, American
 Clyfford Still, 1904-1980, American
 Louise Bourgeois, 1911-2010, French-American
 Alexander Calder, 1898-1976, American
 Helen Frankenthaler, 1928-2011, American
 Alma Thomas, 1891-1978, American
 Mercedes Matter, 1913-2001, American
 Jean-Paul Riopelle, 1923-2002, Canadian

Conclusion Summery
 Abstract expressionism is an art movement that emerged in
U.S. In the year following World war-II.
 It is characterized by the use of abstract forms and techiniques ,
expressive bursh strokes and emphasis on the act of painting
itself.
 Abstract expressionism is often considered as the first truly art
movement to dominant European artistic traditions of time.
 Its generally divided into two types namely , Action paintings &
Color Field Paintings.
 The origins of Abstract expressionisms can be tracked back to
the 1930’s & 40’s .
 The Artists who were largely based in NewYork city were
influenced by a variety of sources including Surrealism,
Cubism..etc
 These regarding some of the most well-known abstracts
inclusing Jackson pollocks, Willem do kooning..etc were became
famous by their abstract paintingts.
References:
https://www.artlex.com/art-movements/abstract-expressionism/
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/a/abstract-expressionism#:~:text=Abstract
%20expressionism%20is%20the%20term,and%20the%20impression%20of%20spontaneity
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
312542506_Abstract_Expressionism_A_Case_Study_on_Jackson_Pollock's_Works
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abstract_expressionism