Abstract Expressionism Essay, Research Paper

Abstract Expressionism

Abstract expressionism is a movement in American painting of the late 1940s and early 1950s acclaimed throughout the world. The dominance of American art dates from the success of the Abstract Expressionists, their formal innovations and new techniques were crucial to the development of Western art, and many artists today still make use of their ideas or react against them.

Abstract Expressionism was first used to describe the works of Kandinsky and Robert Coates.

The main characteristics of Abstract expressionism paintings are large scaled, generally abstract but with some figurative elements. The artists had laid great stress on the process of painting, regarding it as a ritual act, they often used household paints and developed methods of applying them to the canvas, The major figures of the movement were Willem De Kooning, Jackson Pollock..etc.

Works: Willen De Kooning: Easter Monday, 1956

Jackson Pullock: No.1 (Lavender Mist), 1950