The History Of Abstract Expressionism.

Abstract Expressionism (late 40′s – 50-ies. XX century) is a stage of development of abstract art. The term was introduced in the 20′s by German art historian E. von Sydow to refer some aspects of Expressionist art. In 1929, American Wagg used it to characterize the early works of Kandinsky, and in 1947 called “abstract-expressionistic” works of de Kooning and Pollock. Since then, the notion of abstract expressionism has been strengthened over a sufficiently broad stylistic and technical field of colorful abstract painting (and later, and sculpture), had a rapid development in the 50-ies. in the U.S., in Europe and then worldwide. The direct ancestors of abstract expressionism are early Kandinsky, expressionist, partly Dadaists and Surrealists, with their principle of psychic automatism. Philosophical and aesthetic grounds of abstract expressionism were largely popular in the postwar period the philosophy of existentialism.

Abstract expressionism continued the «liberation” of art from any mind control, logical laws and more – from the traditional laws of color relationships, color syntax of the Euro-Mediterranean culture. The motto of the abstract expressionists became a formula: “Exemption from regulations, exemptions from the formalism, domination of ruler and compass, but in the first place – the liberation of free flowing color from doctrinal laws of form” (Karl Rurberg). The main principle of the creative artists of abstract expressionism was the spontaneous, automatic application of paint on canvas exclusively under the influence of subjective mood and emotional states. Joy, anger, passion, fear and suffering literally were pushed over by the abstract expressionists with flows of paint on canvas.

The styles are different – from the traditional work by brush to applying paint only with a spatula, pouring them out of cans, extrusion of tubes, spray with an atomizer, etc. Color structures are accordingly diverse on the shape and color (from mono to a sharp beating on the nerves a riot of colors, which has no analogue in nature or in the traditional painting). The spectrum of the work of abstract expressionists are diverse too – from symbolic black hieroglyph of Pierre Soulages and meditative huge monochrome (with a barely perceptible tone fluctuations) paintings of Mark Rothko’s to the paintings of Dutchman Karel Appels hocking the eye and psyche of the viewer “wild” in brightness, sculpture and syntax.

The main centers of origin of abstract expressionism were Paris (in particular, Ecole de Pans), where after the war it was collected a large number of artists from around the world, and the U.S. Among the leading figures of abstract expressionism in Europe are Roger Bissiére, founder of the Ecole, Pierre Soulages, Hans Hartung, Nicolas de Stael (Nicolas de Staël), representatives of the group “Cobra” (A. ERN (Asger Jorn), P. Alehinski, K. Appel). In the United States – it is Arshile Gorky, William de Kooning, Adolph Gottlieb, Barnett Neuman, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko. Along with a group of “Cobra”, whose members often introduced into their paintings elements of the visible reality and the use of extremely bright day-glo colors and their combinations (especially K. Appel), Abstract Expressionism has such style as Tachisme, action painting, informel.

Since the mid 50′s abstract expressionism has become a powerful international movement in art, capturing virtually all continents. Complete freedom of applying paint to the canvas or the treatment of plastic forms, declared by abstract expressionism, has created countless followers of this trend, infesting museums, galleries and homes of citizens with a lot of its paintings.

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