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The term was first applied to American art in 1946 by the critic Robert Coates .
Technically, its most important predecessor is often said to be surrealism, with its emphasis on spontaneous, automatic or subconscious creation. Jackson Pollock's dripping paint onto a canvas laid on the floor is a technique that has its roots in the work of Max Ernst.
The movement gets its name because it is seen as combining the emotional intensity and self-expression of the German Expressionists with the anti-figurative aesthetic of the European abstract schools such as Futurism, the Bauhaus and Synthetic Cubism. Additionally, it has an image of being rebellious, anarchic, highly idiosyncratic and, some feel, rather nihilistic.
In practice, the term is applied to any number of artists working in New York who had quite different styles, and even applied to work which is not especially abstract nor expressionist. Pollock's energetic " action paintingAction painting sometimes called gestural abstraction is a style of painting in which paint is spontaneously dribbled, splashed or smeared onto the canvas, rather than being carefully applied. The resulting works emphasise the physical act of painting itss", with their "busy" feel, are very different both technically and aesthetically to the rather violent and grotesque Women series of Willem de KooningWillem de Kooning ( April 24, 1904- March 19, 1997) an abstract expressionist painter was born in Rotterdam in The Netherlands. The Rotterdam Academy of Fine Art accepted de Kooning as a student in 1916. In 1926 he stowed away on a boat to New York City. (which is not particularly abstract) and to the serenely shimmering blocks of colour in Mark RothkoMark Rothko ( September 25, 1903 February 25, 1970) was a painter, often classified as an abstract expressionist (although Rothko vociferously denied being an abstract painter). He was born Mark Rothkowitz in Daugavpils (Dvinsk), Russia (now Latvia) and e's work (which does not seem particularly expressionist), yet all three are classified as abstract expressionists.
That said, abstract expressionist paintings do tend to share certain definite characteristics, such as a fondness for large canvases, an emphasis on the canvas's inherent flatness, and an "all-over" approach, in which all areas of the canvas are treated with equal importance (as opposed to the center being of more interest than the edges, for example).
As the first truly original school of paintingThis article is about the painting of a surface for artistic reasons. Painting is also the utilitarian painting of objects and buildings, often done to provide a protective coating or for aesthetic reasons. One possible process for decorative painting of in America, abstract expressionism demonstrated the vitality and creativity of the country in the post-war years, as well as its need (or ability) to develop an aesthetic sense that was not constrained by the European standards of beauty.
Articles on two leading abstract expressionists Jackson Pollock and Philip Guston, by American artist Dorothy Koppelman, relating their art to their lives from the Aesthetic Realism point of view, can be seen on the Terrain Gallery Web site.
CanadianCanada historically the Dominion of Canada is the second-largest, and northernmost, country in the world. It is a decentralized federation of 10 provinces and 3 territories, governed as a constitutional monarchy, and formed in 1867 through an act of Confe artist, Jean-Paul RiopelleLa Joute by Jean-Paul Riopelle Jean-Paul Riopelle ( 7 October 1923 12 March 2002) was a painter and sculptor from Quebec. He studied under Paul-Emile Borduas in the 1940s and was a member of Les Automatistes movement. He was one of the signers of the Refu (1923-2002), helped introduce abstract impressionismAbstract impressionism is a term used to describe works with non-energetic, uniformal brushstrokes without any climax. The term describes those Abstract expressionists who have a brushstroke similar to Monet and other impressionists. It was coined by Elai to Paris in the 1950s.By the 1960sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s Years: 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 Events and trends The 1960s was a turbulent decade of change around, the movement had lost most of its impact, and was no longer so influential. Movements which were direct responses to, and rebellions against, abstract expressionism had begun, such as pop art and minimalism. However, many painters, such as Fuller Potter , who had produced abstract expressionist work continued to work in that style for many years afterwards extending and expanding its visual and philosophical implications.
Abstract expressionism's main representatives were: