The work of the Abstract Expressionists, though widely varied in style, was unified in its rejection of direct representation of the objective world and its emphasis on the expressive capablities of one's own gestures and techniques.
Action Painting
Jackson Pollock
1950 (350 Kb); Oil on canvas, Oil, enamel, and aluminum on canvas; 221 x 300
cm (7 ft 3 in x 9 ft 10 in); National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Color Field Abstraction
 |
Mark Rothko, White Center,1950, Private Collection Working with layers of thin paint, Rothko made the edges of his rectangles fuzzy and soft, rendering the rectangles cloudlike, seemingly able to float one on top of another. From that time on he would work almost invariably within this format, suggesting in numerous variations of color and tone an astonishing range of atmospheres and moods. |
 |
Frankenthaler, Helen Frankenthaler poured paint onto the canvas, soaking and stainng the canvas. At first she used oil paint, thinned with turpentine until it was very fluid. Later she used acrylic paints which can be thinned with water and handled much like watercolor. |
 |
Kline, Franz Painting Number 2 1954 Oil on canvas 6'8 1/2" x 8'9" (204.3 x 271.6 cm) The Museum of Modern Art, New York |