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."

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Painting, Bleu I, Yichao Sun

Yichao Sun

Painting . 40 x 30 x 2 cm Painting . 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch

CHF 583

Painting, Couleur III, Yichao Sun

Yichao Sun

Painting . 40 x 30 x 2 cm Painting . 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch

CHF 583

Painting, Sans titre 9, Arsène Odin

Arsène Odin

Painting . 40 x 50 x 2 cm Painting . 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch

CHF 291

Painting, Heart VI, Stanislav Bojankov

Stanislav Bojankov

Painting . 29 x 29 x 2 cm Painting . 11.4 x 11.4 x 0.8 inch

CHF 165

Painting, Heart V, Stanislav Bojankov

Stanislav Bojankov

Painting . 29 x 29 x 2 cm Painting . 11.4 x 11.4 x 0.8 inch

CHF 165

Painting, Claim 20, Mark Hellbusch

Mark Hellbusch

Painting . 110 x 100 x 1.5 cm Painting . 43.3 x 39.4 x 0.6 inch

CHF 2,720

Painting, Inserted.0323, Kris Haas

Kris Haas

Painting . 35.6 x 27.9 x 1.5 cm Painting . 14 x 11 x 0.6 inch

CHF 312

Painting, Sans titre I, Arsène Odin

Arsène Odin

Painting . 40 x 40 x 2 cm Painting . 15.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch

CHF 389

Fine Art Drawings, Big Blue Melt 14, Jaanika Peerna

Jaanika Peerna

Fine Art Drawings . 132 x 182.3 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings . 52 x 71.8 x 0 inch

CHF 8,352

Painting, RE 22, Mark Hellbusch

Mark Hellbusch

Painting . 30 x 24 x 2 cm Painting . 11.8 x 9.4 x 0.8 inch

CHF 379

Painting, RE 23, Mark Hellbusch

Mark Hellbusch

Painting . 30 x 40 x 2 cm Painting . 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch

CHF 476

Painting, RE 24, Mark Hellbusch

Mark Hellbusch

Painting . 30 x 40 x 2 cm Painting . 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch

CHF 476

Painting, Up the Creek, Nestor Toro

Nestor Toro

Painting . 121.9 x 91.4 x 1.8 cm Painting . 48 x 36 x 0.7 inch

CHF 3,560