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."

Search by Image

Save your search and find it in your favorites

5/8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Categories

Subcategories

Gestural abstraction

Fire echoes 2

Strange spectra 8 (iridescent blue)

Strange spectra 7 (Over bright red)

Floating over pink

Floating over pink #2

Merging garden (Color intrusion)

Lush green hills

A patch over the atlantic

Distorted forest projection

Flickering garden 3

Sparks (over iridescent blue)

Understanding pink (Spin)

A ghostly garden

Flickering garden 8

Flickering garden 7

Flickering garden 4

Sudden reflections

Fiery reflections (Flourishing garden)

Interference reflections (Ice)

Catching memories (Reflections of Summer)

Colorado River (Erosion), Painting, Acrylic on canvas

Depths of radiance 1

Reflections of Autumn

Flickering Garden 5 (yellow), Painting, Acrylic on canvas

Flickering garden 8

Film Noir

Footloose

Looking for Anomalies

Sightseer

The Girl in My Dreams

Mating Dance

Light in the Dark

Serenade

Window Dressing

Behold

Naked Truth

Giving Voice to It

Slipping Away

Chasing Nectar

Redhead with Highlights

Sweet Surrender

Arounder

Moment of Clarity

Stepping Out

Ecstasy

Alone Time

Pushing the Edge

Outback

Wasteland

Coming & Going

Undercover

Cuddle

Spontaneous Combustion

Rock & Roller

Riding a Pale Horse

Rock Solid

Crossing Over

Starting Over

Shuffle

Containment

Night Shift

Artifacts Triptych

Lost Cause Triptych

Up Against It

Two for the Show

Showoff