Abstract Expressionism
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Period: c. 1940s – 1950s CE (peak period) Region: Primarily United States (New York City)
Overview & Key Characteristics
Abstract Expressionism emerged in New York City in the 1940s, becoming the first American avant-garde movement to achieve major international influence and shifting the center of the Western art world from Paris to New York. Developed in the shadow of World War II and amidst Cold War anxieties, it was characterized by large-scale abstract paintings intended to convey profound subjective emotions, existential angst, universal myths, or spiritual concerns. Rejecting representational imagery, the movement emphasized spontaneity, subconscious creation (automatism), and the physical act of painting itself. Abstract Expressionism is broadly divided into two main tendencies: Action Painting, which stressed energetic gestures, visible brushstrokes, and the process of creation (e.g., Jackson Pollock's drip paintings, Willem de Kooning's vigorous abstractions, Franz Kline's bold black-and-white canvases), and Color Field Painting, which focused on large, flat areas of color intended to create immersive, contemplative, or sublime experiences (e.g., Mark Rothko's hovering rectangles, Barnett Newman's fields broken by "zips," Clyfford Still's jagged color masses).
Summary of Common Characteristics:
| Feature | Characteristic Description (Abstract Expressionism) |
|---|---|
| Light | Non-representational: Light is not depicted illusionistically. In Color Field painting, light often seems to emanate from the color fields themselves, creating luminosity or atmosphere. |
| Surface/Texture | Action Painting: Often highly textured, emphasizing the physicality of paint – drips, splashes, thick impasto, energetic marks. Color Field: Often smoother, flatter surfaces, with color stained into the canvas or applied in thin layers to emphasize opticality over texture. |
| Figures/Objects | Primarily Abstract: Rejection of recognizable figures or objects. Focus is on gesture, color, form, process. (De Kooning's Woman series is a notable exception integrating distorted figuration). |
| Space/Depth | Often Flattened, Expansive, or 'All-Over': Rejects traditional perspective. Emphasizes the flatness of the canvas (Pollock's "all-over" compositions). Color Field paintings create a sense of engulfing space through large scale and color relationships. |
| Color Palette | Action Painting: Can be highly varied, sometimes featuring energetic clashes or stark contrasts (Kline's black and white). Color Field: Focuses on the emotional and optical power of large areas of specific hues, often exploring subtle relationships or creating intense saturation. |
| Composition | Action Painting: Often lacks a central focus ("all-over"), driven by gesture and process, emphasizing energy across the canvas. Color Field: Typically features simple, monumental compositions – large fields, rectangles, vertical lines ("zips") – aiming for wholeness and direct impact. |
| Details/Lines | Action Painting: Lines are often the result of dynamic gestures, drips, or bold strokes. Color Field: Lines primarily define the edges of color areas or act as vertical interruptions (Newman's "zips"). Minimal detail. |
| Mood/Emotion | Intense Subjectivity, Existential Angst, Heroic Struggle, Primal Energy, Spirituality, Sublimity, Contemplation. Expresses deep human emotions, the artist's psyche, universal myths (early phase), or seeks to evoke profound, often meditative responses in the viewer. |
| Subject Matter | The Act of Creation & Abstract Expression: The painting process itself (Action Painting). The expressive potential of pure color and form. Universal human emotions, mythic archetypes, the subconscious, existential concerns, the sublime, spiritual experience. |
Abstract Expressionism valued authenticity, directness of expression, and monumental scale.
Historical Context & Influences
The rise of Abstract Expressionism was shaped by unique historical circumstances:
- Post-World War II Era: The US emerged as a global superpower. New York became a refuge for many European artists fleeing Nazism (e.g., Mondrian, Ernst, Masson, Breton), creating a fertile ground for avant-garde exchange. There was a desire to create a distinctly American modern art.
- Cold War: The movement's emphasis on individual freedom and expression was sometimes implicitly contrasted with the perceived constraints of Soviet Socialist Realism, although artists rarely intended this political reading.
- Existentialism: Philosophical ideas emphasizing individual freedom, responsibility, and angst in a seemingly meaningless universe resonated with the mood of many artists.
- Psychoanalytic Theory: Interest in Carl Jung's theories of the collective unconscious and universal archetypes influenced artists seeking profound, mythic content.
Influences: Abstract Expressionism synthesized various strands of modern art:
- Surrealism: Crucial influence, particularly its emphasis on automatism (accessing the subconscious directly) and interest in myth and the primitive. The presence of Surrealist exiles in New York was vital.
- Cubism: Provided models for abstract structure and the flattened picture plane.
- Expressionism (European): Inspiration from the emotional intensity and expressive technique of artists like Kandinsky (early abstraction) and Soutine.
- Joan Miró: His biomorphic abstraction and automatist techniques were influential.
- Mexican Muralism: Artists like Orozco, Rivera, and Siqueiros provided models for large-scale, socially relevant painting.
- Native American Art: Influenced Pollock, particularly Navajo sand painting techniques.
Key Artists & Their Contributions
- Action Painting Wing:
- Jackson Pollock (1912-1956): Became iconic for his "drip painting" technique, creating dynamic "all-over" compositions embodying energy and process.
- Willem de Kooning (1904-1997): Known for his aggressive brushwork and controversial merging of abstraction with violently distorted figures, especially in his Woman series.
- Franz Kline (1910-1962): Famous for large, powerful black-and-white abstract compositions resembling giant calligraphy.
- Lee Krasner (1908-1984): A significant painter whose dynamic, often collaged abstractions evolved throughout her career.
- Color Field Wing:
- Mark Rothko (1903-1970): Created large canvases featuring hovering, soft-edged rectangles of luminous color designed to evoke profound emotional and spiritual states.
- Barnett Newman (1905-1970): Used vast fields of flat color interrupted by thin vertical lines ("zips") to create experiences of sublimity and transcendence.
- Clyfford Still (1904-1980): Developed a unique style with jagged, interlocking shapes of heavily impastoed color, suggesting elemental forces.
- Other Key Figures: Robert Motherwell (intellectual figure, known for Elegy to the Spanish Republic series), Adolph Gottlieb (Pictographs, later Bursts), Philip Guston (moved from AbEx to a unique figurative style), Helen Frankenthaler (pioneered color staining techniques, linking AbEx to later Color Field painting).
Notable Works
- Pollock: Number 17A; Lavender Mist: Number 1, 1950; Autumn Rhythm (Number 30).
- De Kooning: Excavation; Woman I; Interchange.
- Kline: Mahoning; Chief.
- Rothko: No. 14, 1960; White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose); Rothko Chapel (Houston).
- Newman: Vir Heroicus Sublimis; Onement series; Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue series.
- Still: Numerous untitled works identified by year and number (e.g., 1957-D No. 1).
- Motherwell: Elegy to the Spanish Republic series.
- Frankenthaler: Mountains and Sea.
Legacy and Influence
Abstract Expressionism dominated the art world in the 1950s and had a lasting impact:
- It cemented New York's position as the leading center for international contemporary art.
- It represented a peak moment for abstract painting, demonstrating its capacity for emotional depth, monumentality, and existential expression.
- Its different facets led to subsequent developments: Color Field painting evolved into Post-Painterly Abstraction and Minimalism; Action Painting influenced Neo-Expressionism and performance art.
- Later movements like Pop Art and Minimalism reacted against its perceived heroic individualism, emotionalism, and focus on the artist's gesture.
- It remains a defining movement of mid-20th century art, embodying the cultural shift towards American influence after WWII.