Do you know what Abstract Expressionism is?

Today many artists are still inspired by the creative principles and techniques of the Abstract Expressionism art movement.

But what is Abstract Expressionism ?

After the Second World War in the United States and especially in New York, the creative climate that arose from the coexistence between artists, both local and emigrants, favored the development of new lines of expression.

The era was one of strong psychological, social and economic instability, however, art, as on many other historical occasions, was an effective means of interpreting reality.

Mark Rothko, Untitled (Orange, Plum, Yellow) , 1950, Museo Reina Sofia

The adoption of an abstract language by these artists was a natural consequence of the negative feelings that had remained in the community after the horror of war.

In fact, figuration did not seem to be able to express the turbulent emotions of artists who, therefore, made abstract art the fruit of their experiences, both dramatic and optimistic.

The Abstract Expressionists took refuge in their interior, abandoned all references and gave absolute priority to gesture and physical action. Both were as much a production technique as they were the subject represented.

Willem De Kooning. Untitled (Woman in a Forest) , ca. 1963-64, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

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5 facts you should know about Abstract Expressionism:

1. Its original name is Action Painting , a term coined by art critic Harold Rosemberg in a 1952 article in Art News magazine called “American Action Painters.”
2. It is considered the first fully American artistic movement and for this reason it received government support and CIA funding.
3. It is inspired by automatism, an artistic practice used by the surrealists where the subconscious is allowed to flow, with the aim of externalizing the artist's most authentic and deepest feelings .
4. The dripping technique was invented by the expressionist artist Jackson Pollock and consists of letting paint drip, drip, splash or fall from a container onto the surface of the work.
5. Abstract expressionism inspired other artistic movements , such as minimalism and French tachism.

Jackson Pollock painting

Among the pioneering names of the movement are Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Lee Krasner, Mark Rothko, Joan Mitchell, James Brooks, among others.