Abstract Expressionism
In the early 1940s, the East Village became the stomping grounds for a number of artists who congregated there, sharing ideas in a manner akin to the Impressionists in Montmartre. These artists shared "an interest in using abstraction to convey strong emotional or expressive content" and a "characteristic messiness and extremely energetic application of paint." These artists eschewed narrative and symbolism in their work exploring, instead, "the literal act of applying paint to the canvas."
The figure below presents a graphical overview of the key characteristics of the movement.
Phoebe Hoban, in her book Basquiat: A Quick Killing in Art, compared the Abstract Expressionism movement to the later -- but geographically co-located -- Neo-Expressionism movement:
... while the first movement shifted the tectonic plates of the art world from Paris to New York and shaped Western culture for the second half of the twentieth century, the second movement was merely a trendy fashion statement, a bleep on the radar ... The Abstract Expressionists came together to promote a cause, while the East Village artists came together to promote themselves.According to Phoebe, the Abstract Expressionists put themselves on the map with a show on Ninth Street in 1951. Sixty-one artists displayed 61 pieces of art, the first time that the general public had had an opportunity to see the full scope of the movement's coverage. The below reproduction of the 9th Street exhibition poster by artist Franz Kline is included in the current Tampa Museum exhibition.
Haskell Collection
Preston Haskell is Chairman of the Haskell Company, a Jacksonville- (FL) based international design/build. His personal and corporate collections amount to 300 pieces of art work representing abstraction in Post-War and Contemporary Art. This exhibition is based on 25 pieces drawn from his collection.
The Exhibition
The exhibition was divided into three sections -- Abstraction and Revolution, Abstraction and Repitition, and Abstraction and its Legacy -- each endowed with significant information about its intent and, at the individual painting level, copious amounts of information on the artist and the work.
Abstraction and Revolution
This section showcased works by some of the artists who had exhibited at the seminal 9th Street show as well as works of some second-generation artists. The works are primarily esthetically pleasing action paintings that force the viewer to take a deeper look at the method of paint application.
One of the works that I found especially interesting was Franz Kline's Untitled. In the figure above which describes key influences for the Abstract Expressionists, I mentioned the role of chance in the contours of the final product. And other action painters like Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock were dyed-in-the-wool improvisationalists. Kline's approach, however, "was methodical and meticulously planned before execution. His paintings started as drawings, which he projected at a larger scale onto canvas."
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| Franz Kline Untitled, 1960 Oil on paper |
The other works that I found appealing in this section are shown below.
Expressionism and Repetition
Wherein the artists in the prior section reveled in spontaneity, chance, and improvisation, the artists spotlighted in this section were focused on symmetry and bounding colors within geometric shapes. The work by Richard Anuszkiewicz has a somewhat hypnotic look to it, with the green distinctly separated from the red. On closer examination one can be sucked in to the myriad, connector-like lines that constitute that outer red layer. A truly complex construct.
Abstract Expressionism and its Legacy
I would have liked to see more pieces dedicated to this section and more time spent showing me exactly how/why some of the shown pieces were truly linked back to the original movement. For example, the Rosenquist piece shrieked Pop Art to me but is considered an offshoot.
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This is a truly meaningful exhibition in that it not only shows pieces of the works of most of the leading figures in the Abstract Expressionism movement but, through its detailed descriptions of the pieces, the methods used to construct them, and the artists, provided a rewarding experience for novice and accomplished viewer of this movement alike.
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| Hans Hoffman Composition #3, 1956 Oil on canvas |
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| Jean Miotte Untitled, 1958 Oil on canvas |
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| Willem de Kooning Woman II, 1961 Oil on paper mounted on canvas |
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| Helen Frankenthaler February's Turn, 1979 Acrylic on canvas |
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| Michael Goldberg The Keep, 1958 Oil on canvas |
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| Jack Tworkov Bond, 1960 Oil on canvas |
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| Jean-Paul Riopelle Terre Promise (Promised Land), 1960 Oil on canvas |
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| Karel Appel Dans la Tempête (In the Storm), 1960 Oil on canvas |
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| Joan Mitchell Aire pour Marion (Space for Marion), 1975-76 Oil on canvas |
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| Mark Rothko Untitled, 1968 Oil on paper mounted on canvas |
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| Theodoros Stamos Sentinel, 1962-64 Oil on canvas |
Expressionism and Repetition
Wherein the artists in the prior section reveled in spontaneity, chance, and improvisation, the artists spotlighted in this section were focused on symmetry and bounding colors within geometric shapes. The work by Richard Anuszkiewicz has a somewhat hypnotic look to it, with the green distinctly separated from the red. On closer examination one can be sucked in to the myriad, connector-like lines that constitute that outer red layer. A truly complex construct.
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| Josef Albers Study for Homage to the Square, 1964 Oil on blotting paper |
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| Richard Anuszkiewicz Temple to Royal Green, 1983 Acrylic on canvas |
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| Frank Stella New Caledonian Lorikeet, 1980 Mixed media on Tycore Board |
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| Kenneth Noland Summer's Gold, 1983 Acrylic on canvas |
Abstract Expressionism and its Legacy
I would have liked to see more pieces dedicated to this section and more time spent showing me exactly how/why some of the shown pieces were truly linked back to the original movement. For example, the Rosenquist piece shrieked Pop Art to me but is considered an offshoot.
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| Gerhard Richter Abstract Painting (613-3), 1986 Oil on canvas |
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| James Rosenquist Shriek, 1986 Monotype, lithograph, and collage |
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| Sam Francis Untitled, 1988-89 Acrylic on canvas |
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| Paul Jenkins Phenomena Magnetic Octaves, 1981 Acrylic on canvas |
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This is a truly meaningful exhibition in that it not only shows pieces of the works of most of the leading figures in the Abstract Expressionism movement but, through its detailed descriptions of the pieces, the methods used to construct them, and the artists, provided a rewarding experience for novice and accomplished viewer of this movement alike.
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