Abstract Expressionism was an art movement that developed in New York in the 1940s. Inspired by the surrealist idea of art from the unconscious mind, artists of this movement explored abstract interpretations of emotion within their work.
There were three types of abstract painting: action painters like Jackson Pollock looked to record spontaneous and improvised pieces of work, using loose, rapid or forceful handling of paint paired with an impulse to guide the process of the artwork. Painting by chance also included letting the paint drip directly on the canvas.
The second kind was characterised by several styles, where artists like Philip Guston would use delicate imagery created by shapes with fluidity or on the other hand, shapes appeared to be structured and assertive.
Artists like Mark Rothko used large planes of flat colour and translucent paint to convey a subtle and noiseless effect.
I feel that the variety of styles within this one movement speaks for how ‘abstracted’ can mean many things. Personally, I find the use of colour in Jackson Pollock’s action painting paired with the sporadic brushwork appealing as even amongst the chaos of impulse, there is harmony within the colours used.
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/a/abstract-expressionism
Jasmine Cooper 