Thinking of giving art for Christmas? Explore our gift guide

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
Painting, Flamme bleue, Yichao Sun

Yichao Sun

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

£1,372

Painting, About fear, Yichao Sun

Yichao Sun

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

£1,372

Painting, Architecture, Max Yaskin

Max Yaskin

Painting - 100 x 200 x 1 cm Painting - 39.4 x 78.7 x 0.4 inch

£1,784 £1,249

Painting, Sky symphony 1, H-Nguyen

H-Nguyen

Painting - 50 x 65 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 25.6 x 0.8 inch

£622

Painting, Journeys III, H-Nguyen

H-Nguyen

Painting - 73 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 28.7 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

£1,610

Painting, Journeys IV, H-Nguyen

H-Nguyen

Painting - 73 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 28.7 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

£1,610

Painting, Listen to nature, H-Nguyen

H-Nguyen

Painting - 73 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 28.7 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

£2,159

Painting, Rythmes energy II, H-Nguyen

H-Nguyen

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

£1,610

Painting, Summer's end, H-Nguyen

H-Nguyen

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

£1,610

Painting, Sun's rays, H-Nguyen

H-Nguyen

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

£1,701

Painting, Flow, H-Nguyen

H-Nguyen

Painting - 73 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 28.7 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

£2,067

Painting, Sweet sunshine II, H-Nguyen

H-Nguyen

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

£1,610

Painting, Flow II, H-Nguyen

H-Nguyen

Painting - 95 x 75 x 2 cm Painting - 37.4 x 29.5 x 0.8 inch

£2,067

Painting, Journeys V, H-Nguyen

H-Nguyen

Painting - 73 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 28.7 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

£1,610

Painting, Journeys VI, H-Nguyen

H-Nguyen

Painting - 73 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 28.7 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

£1,701

Painting, White cloud, H-Nguyen

H-Nguyen

Painting - 75 x 95 x 2 cm Painting - 29.5 x 37.4 x 0.8 inch

£2,067

Painting, Journeys VII, H-Nguyen

H-Nguyen

Painting - 75 x 95 x 2 cm Painting - 29.5 x 37.4 x 0.8 inch

£1,701

Painting, Growing garden, H-Nguyen

H-Nguyen

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

£2,067

Painting, The sea remembers, H-Nguyen

H-Nguyen

Painting - 75 x 95 x 2 cm Painting - 29.5 x 37.4 x 0.8 inch

£2,067

Painting, Elysium IV, H-Nguyen

H-Nguyen

Painting - 73 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 28.7 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch

£1,445

Painting, Melody blue, H-Nguyen

H-Nguyen

Painting - 80 x 80 x 3 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch

£1,354

Painting, Whispers, H-Nguyen

H-Nguyen

Painting - 73 x 73 x 3 cm Painting - 28.7 x 28.7 x 1.2 inch

£1,445

Painting, Elysium II, H-Nguyen

H-Nguyen

Painting - 95 x 95 x 3 cm Painting - 37.4 x 37.4 x 1.2 inch

£1,537

Painting, Orange park, Marta Zawadzka

Marta Zawadzka

Painting - 90 x 90 x 3 cm Painting - 35.4 x 35.4 x 1.2 inch

£2,104

Painting, Embrasement, Muriel Deumie

Muriel Deumie

Painting - 73 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 28.7 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

£1,098

Painting, Lazer Night, Muriel Deumie

Muriel Deumie

Painting - 60 x 60 x 4 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 1.6 inch

£787

Painting, Mystérieuse, Muriel Deumie

Muriel Deumie

Painting - 80 x 80 x 4 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 1.6 inch

£1,061

Painting, Screens, Laura Newman

Laura Newman

Painting - 55.9 x 76.2 cm Painting - 22 x 30 inch

£3,100

Painting, Scaffold, Laura Newman

Laura Newman

Painting - 55.9 x 76.2 cm Painting - 22 x 30 inch

£3,100

Painting, Porch, Laura Newman

Laura Newman

Painting - 55.9 x 76.2 cm Painting - 22 x 30 inch

£3,100

Painting, Trapeze, Laura Newman

Laura Newman

Painting - 76.2 x 55.9 cm Painting - 30 x 22 inch

£3,100

Painting, Spheres, Laura Newman

Laura Newman

Painting - 76.2 x 55.9 cm Painting - 30 x 22 inch

£3,100

Painting, Slide, Laura Newman

Laura Newman

Painting - 76.2 x 55.9 cm Painting - 30 x 22 inch

£3,100

Painting, Bridge, Laura Newman

Laura Newman

Painting - 76.2 x 55.9 cm Painting - 30 x 22 inch

£3,100

Painting, Soleil de plomb, Muriel Deumie

Muriel Deumie

Painting - 97.5 x 130 x 2 cm Painting - 38.4 x 51.2 x 0.8 inch

£1,372 £1,098

Painting, Graff de rue, Muriel Deumie

Muriel Deumie

Painting - 50 x 100 x 4 cm Painting - 19.7 x 39.4 x 1.6 inch

£1,098 £878

Painting, The cold, Max Yaskin

Max Yaskin

Painting - 200 x 90 x 1 cm Painting - 78.7 x 35.4 x 0.4 inch

£732

Painting, Street Art, Muriel Deumie

Muriel Deumie

Painting - 100 x 50 x 4 cm Painting - 39.4 x 19.7 x 1.6 inch

£915

Painting, Ahmed, Mark Hellbusch

Mark Hellbusch

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

£357

Sculpture, Ocean, Max Yaskin

Max Yaskin

Sculpture - 90 x 50 x 7 cm Sculpture - 35.4 x 19.7 x 2.8 inch

£2,552 £2,297

Sculpture, The other side, Max Yaskin

Max Yaskin

Sculpture - 55 x 100 x 7 cm Sculpture - 21.7 x 39.4 x 2.8 inch

£2,726

Painting, Spring, Francesco Martini

Francesco Martini

Painting - 140 x 81 x 3 cm Painting - 55.1 x 31.9 x 1.2 inch

£1,829

Painting, White And Black 4, Gina Vor

Gina Vor

Painting - 60 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch

£457

Painting, City Lights, Gina Vor

Gina Vor

Painting - 105 x 140 x 2 cm Painting - 41.3 x 55.1 x 0.8 inch

£2,744

Painting, Black sails, Marco Saporiti

Marco Saporiti

Painting - 60 x 60 x 1.5 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 0.6 inch

£256

Painting, Wanted 1, Marco Saporiti

Marco Saporiti

Painting - 60 x 60 x 1.5 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 0.6 inch

£256

Painting, Open Space, Greet Helsen

Greet Helsen

Painting - 50 x 50 cm Painting - 19.7 x 19.7 inch

£1,100

Painting, Sonnentaler, Greet Helsen

Greet Helsen

Painting - 65 x 65 cm Painting - 25.6 x 25.6 inch

£1,550

15/74