Abstractionism, indeed, does not recognize standards and rules. Even among some artists, there is an opinion that there is nothing easier than splashing paint and applying strokes in a chaotic manner. However, this point of view is erroneous, since the abstract painting itself can carry the same information richness as a work depicting real objects or figures.
Concepts of abstraction
Abstract art is a direction in which visual reality fades into the background. The tool used to convey an idea is color, shape, sign or gesture. The word “abstraction” often means the separation of one thing from another. Our catalog contains wonderful works of abstraction, take a look and choose what you like best.
An abstraction must contain a certain image. Modern man lives in a world of high speed. Even our thinking is accustomed to speed, ignoring details as if time is limited. Therefore, the viewer may not understand the abstract work and may not catch familiar images in it. The artist is aware of this, so a good abstraction is often accompanied by a “key” that helps to unravel its secrets.
Types of abstraction
Abstract art can be roughly divided into six types. The proportion of abstraction in them varies, but they are all associated with separation from reality.
1. Curvilinear abstract art. Curvilinear abstraction is clearly visible in Celtic art, where abstract motifs are represented by alternating patterns and spirals. But the Celts are not the founders of these motifs, since they were found long before the appearance of the Indo-European tribes, in the Neolithic era. But it was the Celts who gave curvilinear abstraction a second life, making the patterns more complex and intricate. Celtic motifs returned to art during the Renaissance and Art Nouveau eras. Found in the works of William Morris and Arthur MacMurdo. Today, curvilinear abstraction is considered a major feature of Islamic art.
2. Light abstract art. Light abstraction appears in the works of Monet and Turner. Here light is the main tool for separating the work from reality. Objects seem to dissolve in colors. Other examples include the works of Paul Serousier and the Fauvist works of Henri Matisse, as well as paintings by Kandinsky and Franz Marc. Abstraction associated with color experienced another peak in popularity in the 40s and 50s of the last century. It was then that the color field paintings of Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman were born. Abstract light painting, better known as “Lyrical Abstraction,” is developing in France.
3. Geometric abstraction. Geometric abstraction is one of the movements of intellectual art, founded in 1908. It emerged from analytical cubism, characterized by the rejection of spatial perspective. All attention was focused on the two-dimensional aspects of the painting. In artists' terminology, geometric abstraction is also known as non-objective art. Geometric images and shapes (squares, triangles, circles) prevail here. Artists such as Kazimir Malevich, Piet Mondrian, Theo Van Doesburg, and Josef Albers worked in the direction of geometric abstraction.
4. Emotional abstraction. This type of art combines styles in which a naturalistic basis is a common feature. Naturalism is realized through colors and shapes, but is fundamentally different from geometric abstraction. If the supporters of Cubism presented abstraction as practically anti-natural, then intuitive (emotional) art returns to nature, although it describes it in a very abstract way. Emotional abstraction includes two movements: Surrealism and Organic Abstraction.
5. The art of gestures. One form of abstract expressionism is gestural art. In the process of creating a painting, special attention is paid to applying strokes. They become faster and looser than usual. Gesture painting is typical for the works of Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, and Willem de Kooning.
6. Minimalism. Minimalism is considered the avant-garde of abstraction, as it is devoid of associations and external references. The emphasis is only on what a person sees. Subsequently, this type of abstraction resulted in such a movement as postmodernism.
History of abstract art
Precisely determining the beginnings of abstract art is a difficult task, but art historians conclude that abstraction has its roots approximately 70,000 years ago. Rock fragments carved with abstract geometric patterns were discovered in Blombos Cave in South Africa. The next discoveries date back to the era of the construction of the El Castillo pyramid. The rock paintings found in this era were dominated by dots and stencils. The Altamira caves were also decorated with abstract designs. Paleolithic cave art relied on abstract symbols.
The original purpose of abstractions was to create recognizable scenes, to convey reality in art. However, towards the end of the 19th century there was a change in trends. Impressionism emphasized freedom from the strict academic style of naturalistic painting. The first movement that can be safely classified as abstract art was impressionism in the period from 1870 to 1880. Despite maintaining a naturalistic approach, this style was already noticeably approaching abstraction. Later, a new direction appeared - art nouveau (modern), which actively developed from 1890 to 1914.
Impressionism was distinguished by color accents, but expressionism plays a special role. One of its founders, Wassily Kandinsky, believed that any abstract painting reaches a part of the viewer's brain without intellectual analysis. This part of the brain is associated with art and music. But at the same time, Kandinsky was not a supporter of the idea that abstraction should not be the basis of serious art.
Impressionism had the apogee of its development, but at the beginning of the 20th century it was replaced by cubism, which rejected decorative appeal. Artists such as Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso played a huge role in the development of cubism.
They implemented the new style in stages:
- Prototype Cubism;
- Analytical Cubism;
- Synthetic cubism.
The main idea of the adherents of Cubism was that it was necessary to move away from the attractiveness of impressionism and focus on the intellectuality of art. Thus, innovative ways of displaying reality gradually emerged. Instead of traditional linear perspective, a two-dimensional plane began to be used increasingly. At the same time, the object was drawn from different angles.
One gets the feeling that the photographer takes several photographs of one object from different angles, and then lays them out on one plane. But cubism could not be called truly abstract. The denial of old methods only opened the door to the world of true abstraction.
"It is worth noting several minor pre-war movements that arose from the Cubist idiom. We are talking about Vorticism, founded by Percy Wyndham Lewis, and Futurism, the founder of which is considered to be Marinetti. After such ramifications, it becomes clear that if traditional painting is based on the forms of real life, then abstraction accepts artificial forms."
The basis of any painting is abstraction, but not every abstraction is a painting.
In conclusion, the art of abstract painting becomes an inexhaustible source of freedom of expression for artists and a source of endless visual experiences for viewers. Studying the work of abstract artists opens up a world of innovation where shapes, colors and textures become a language free of reference to concrete objects. In this fascinating exploration, we see how abstraction allows artists to express their emotions, thoughts and perceptions in the purest and most abstract form.
These works of art become a meeting space between creator and viewer, where everyone can find their own unique meaning. In the world of abstractions, forms cease to have a clear meaning, and perception becomes highly individual and subjective. Thus, the study of abstract art reveals to us an endless ocean of creative possibilities, where freedom of expression is combined with endless perspectives of perception. Our catalog contains wonderful works of abstraction, take a look and choose what you like best.