Gestural abstraction

The phrase gestural abstraction refers to a way of making art - not what necessarily gets painted, but how it does.  By abandoning the application of paint to a surface in a controlled and premeditated way, gestural painters apply paint intuitively, physically, by dripping, splattering, pouring, smearing or throwing it at the surface itself. What matters to the gestural abstraction painters then isn't the paint but the physicality, honesty, intuition and deep personal expression. This in turn leads to the artist abandoning a focus on subject matter, turning inward for inspiration. As such, the act of painting itself becomes the subject. Willem de Kooning, Lee Krasner and Franz Kline led this movement from the 1940s onwards, with Jackson Pollock undoubtedly being the most notable with his pierced paint tins, dripping across the surface of Number 1A, 1948 (1948).  Abstract gestural painters explore their deepest emotions and they express that part of themselves during the physical act of painting. Pollock would later note that he had no fears about making changes to a painting, because, he said, the work has a life of its own. The painting itself is a relic of the action, it is a recording of the gestures made. Still influencing artists today, the likes of Caroline Vis and Sebastien Desnos (s3b desnos) both reference Pollock in their work, either echoing the expression of emotion or indeed as Desnos puts it, “action painting."

Read more
Fine Art Drawings, Enchanted Glade, Gaëlle Wagner

Gaëlle Wagner

Fine Art Drawings - 100 x 80 x 2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 39.4 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch

$2,929

Painting, Splash 44, Mark Hellbusch

Mark Hellbusch

Painting - 80 x 80 x 1.5 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.6 inch

$720

Painting, Shadow, Darlene Watson

Darlene Watson

Painting - 203.2 x 292.1 x 5.1 cm Painting - 80 x 115 x 2 inch

$17,989

Painting, NotWithstanding, Kris Haas

Kris Haas

Painting - 50.8 x 40.6 x 2 cm Painting - 20 x 16 x 0.8 inch

$1,015

Painting, Stripes, Aloyzas Smilingis

Aloyzas Smilingis

Painting - 81 x 60 x 0.3 cm Painting - 31.9 x 23.6 x 0.1 inch

$4,515

Painting, Num — 036, Damien Berrard

Damien Berrard

Painting - 60 x 120 x 3 cm Painting - 23.6 x 47.2 x 1.2 inch

$1,830

Fine Art Drawings, Gestures, Gina Vor

Gina Vor

Fine Art Drawings - 55.5 x 76 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 21.9 x 29.9 x 0 inch

$732

Painting, Mobile Cosmos, Jo Sada

Jo Sada

Painting - 40 x 30 x 1.5 cm Painting - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.6 inch

$134

Print, Oasis, Aloyzas Smilingis

Aloyzas Smilingis

Print - 130 x 100 x 2 cm Print - 51.2 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

$1,342

Sculpture, Cooling, Mark Hellbusch

Mark Hellbusch

Sculpture - 72 x 65 x 4 cm Sculpture - 28.3 x 25.6 x 1.6 inch

$2,563 $2,178

Painting, Devotion, Caroline Vis

Caroline Vis

Painting - 100 x 210 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 82.7 x 0.8 inch

$6,101

Painting, Expansion, Eliana Sá

Eliana Sá

Painting - 89 x 116 x 2 cm Painting - 35 x 45.7 x 0.8 inch

$1,586

Painting, Danse infinie, Âme Sauvage

Âme Sauvage

Painting - 80 x 80 x 2.4 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.9 inch

$976

Painting, Victoria, Gaëlle Wagner

Gaëlle Wagner

Painting - 40 x 40 x 4 cm Painting - 15.7 x 15.7 x 1.6 inch

$842

Painting, GX3SY, Gaëlle Wagner

Gaëlle Wagner

Painting - 80 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch

$2,379

Painting, Dazzle me !, Gaëlle Wagner

Gaëlle Wagner

Painting - 100 x 100 x 4.5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.8 inch

$2,929

Painting, Le mental, Âme Sauvage

Âme Sauvage

Painting - 80 x 80 x 2.4 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.9 inch

$976