The true work of art is but a shadow of divine perfection.
Michelangelo (1475-1564)
Abstract art is a playground of visual delights. In abstract drawing, painting, and sculpture, the artist creates moments of color and contemplation. Abstract artists use color, line, form, texture, pattern, composition and process to present their ideas and evoke responses in a nonlinear fashion. An abstract art form can take on any one or combination of these elements.
Abstract art expresses in a way what other art forms cannot. By avoiding the constraints of the storylines associated with realistic images and objects, abstract art can speak to the emotion behind the piece. Utilizing color, shape, and form to express its meaning Abstract art forms touch on our emotions in an indirect way that is both powerful and thoughtful.
When asked about his abstract art artist Jon Bunge says, “In other words, instead of trying to represent something I’m seeing in the world, I’m following to my intuition to create something from my imagination. In making art in this way, I feel connected to my spirituality, which also involves the intuitive, the mysterious and the out-of-the-ordinary.”
Here are the most popular Abstract art movements in the past 150 years.
Impressionism
Arguably the first art style to move away from realism, it was originally used by a critic who said Claude Monet’s skill-level as only capable of a mere “impression” of a sunrise. Artists in this movement stressed the importance of one’s way of seeing the world over, incorporating the effects of light, perspective, and time on an image rather than its exact representation.
Expressionism
Beginning in the early 20th century in Germany, a set of artists including the popular Edvard Munch began using moods and emotion in their paintings. The painting essentially depicts the mood or emotional moment that the artist is in while painting. Each brush stroke becomes important in creating the energy and movement in the painting.
Abstract Expressionism
In the later half of the 20th century, art was transforming as rapidly as the world around it. In New York City a group of artists including Jackson Pollock and William de Kooning began to focus on the medium itself as their subject. For an untrained eye, the paintings can look like child’s play with splashes of color, but deeper study reveals the very intentional approach this artist took to create chaos.
Pluralism
It’s commonly believed that pluralism characterizes art at the beginning of the 21st century. There is an anything goes attitude that prevails. There is no one right way to produce art and in fact, there are as many ways as there are artists; pluralism embraces all forms. Consequently, breathtaking, original masterpieces of art continue to be produced, albeit in a diverse variety of styles and aesthetics, leaving the marketplace to judge each on its own merits.
