Abstract Expressionism Art Movement

Abstract Expressionism and its Key Artists

• Abstract Expressionism, also known as action painting, involved working on enormous canvases not attached to an easel.
• In 1962, Clement Greenberg defined Abstract Expressionism by its loose, rapid handling and masses that blotted and fused on the canvas.
• Action painting focused on the destruction of the figure, with the image being secondary, and encompassed a variety of application methods, such as dripping and pouring paint.
• Abstract Expressionism supported non-representational art, mingled colors, and shapes formed through emotion.
• Jackson Pollock, a key figure in Abstract Expressionism, was inspired by Mexican muralists and European modernism.
• Pollock revolutionized art by laying canvases on the floor and dripping and splattering paint around all sides of the canvas.
• He aimed to create non-representational impact and be part of the ritual of painting.
• Pollock's emergence as a significant artist was solidified when art critic Clement Greenberg declared him the mastermind of the new American art.
• Pollock's synthesis of mythology and ceremonial practices is reflected in his painting "Guardians of the Secret."
• "The Key," part of Pollock's "Accabonac Creek" series, maintained his interest in spontaneous, unplanned painting.
• "One: Number 31" is considered Pollock's masterpiece based on the innovative drip technique, with somber colors on an off-white background.
• Willem de Kooning, another influential Abstract Expressionist, became part of the modernist set of artists in New York and worked for the Works Progress Administration.