Abstract Art

Abstract art uses a visual language of shape, form, color, and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world.

Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the attempt to reproduce an illusion of visible reality.

As you can see in the Renaissance painting below the artist is merely painting a depiction of real life. The artist has worked hard to achieve a style that mimics reality. It had not occurred to artists at this time to create art that was not a direct representation of the world around them.

Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini Marriage 1434

By the end of the 19th century many artists felt a need to create a new kind of art which would encompass the fundamental changes taking place in technology, science and philosophy.

Plus, realism had been done before. Artists needed something new. They needed a change.

Abstraction indicates a departure from reality. This departure from accurate representation can be slight, partial, or complete. Abstraction exists along a continuum.

Total abstraction bears no trace of any reference to anything recognizable.

Abstract art began in 1911 with such works as Picture with a Circle (1911) by the Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944).

Color is the element used in this painting. This painting takes the idea of color very literaly. It uses color in its most primal form. It represents no object in reality. Though some may see traces of recognizable form within its canvas. Such as an eyeball?

Kandinsky believed that colors provoke emotions. Red was lively and confident; Green was peaceful with inner strength; Blue was deep and supernatural; Yellow could be warm, exciting, disturbing or totally bonkers; and White seemed silent but full of possibilities.

Abstract art is also called “non-objective art”, “non-figurative”, “non-representational”, “geometric abstraction”, or “concrete art”. Abstract is a vague umbrella term for any painting or sculpture which does not portray recognizable objects or scenes.

Composition No. 10 by Mondrian 1939–42

Keep in mind that although abstract art may not portray recognizable objects or scenes they may in theory represent them. Some abstract artist claim their abstract pieces are representational of emotions, important events in time, objects or basically anything the artist wants.

Another thing to note is that there are varying degrees of abstraction. As we said before abstraction is on a continuum. As with the painting below by Picasso. It contains recognizable forms but obviously this is not necessarily a representation of something one would see in real life.

Pablo Picasso Guernica 1937 Oil on canvas

Guernica is a painting by Pablo Picasso. It was created in response to the bombing of Guernica, a village in northern Spain, by German and Italian warplanes during the Spanish Civil War.

Guernica shows the tragedies of war and the suffering it inflicts upon individuals, particularly innocent civilians. This work has gained a monumental status, becoming a perpetual reminder of the tragedies of war, an anti-war symbol, and an embodiment of peace. Upon completion, Guernica was displayed around the world in a brief tour, becoming famous and widely acclaimed. This tour helped bring the Spanish Civil War to the world’s attention.

Abstract Metal Sculpture

David Fried Stemmer stainless steel 2012

This work is an example of geometrical abstract sculpture that portrays the artists vision of a stem cell. They look like young or undeveloped beings, easy to personify and almost friendly in appearance.