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Abstract Expressionism
20Basic Art Series
From vast, splattered canvases to quiet pools of color, enter the world of Abstract Expressionism, the movement which put feelings into paint and turned New York into the global center for contemporary art. This book features works from 20 key artists, including Jackson Pollock, Philip Guston, Robert Motherwell, Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning.
Hardcover, 8.3 x 10.2 in., 1.36 lb, 96 pages
Abstract Expressionism
20Mood Marks
The painterly gestures of personal feelings
Hailed as the first American-born art movement to have a worldwide influence, Abstract Expressionism denotes the non-representational use of paint as a means of personal expression. It emerged in America in the 1940s, with lead protagonists including Jackson Pollock, Philip Guston, Robert Motherwell, Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning.
Abstract Expressionism spawned many different stylistic tendencies but two particularly prominent sub-categories: action painting, exemplified by de Kooning and Pollock, and color field painting, made most famous by Rothko. Throughout, Abstract Expressionists strove to convey emotions and ideas through the making of marks, through forms, textures, shades, and the particular quality of brushstrokes. The movement favored large-scale canvases, and embraced the role of accident or chance.
With featured works from 20 key Abstract Expressionist artists, this book introduces the movement which shifted the center of art gravity from Paris to New York and remains for many the golden moment of American art.
Abstract Expressionism spawned many different stylistic tendencies but two particularly prominent sub-categories: action painting, exemplified by de Kooning and Pollock, and color field painting, made most famous by Rothko. Throughout, Abstract Expressionists strove to convey emotions and ideas through the making of marks, through forms, textures, shades, and the particular quality of brushstrokes. The movement favored large-scale canvases, and embraced the role of accident or chance.
With featured works from 20 key Abstract Expressionist artists, this book introduces the movement which shifted the center of art gravity from Paris to New York and remains for many the golden moment of American art.
The author
Barbara Hess (b. 1964) is an art historian, critic, and translator and resides in Cologne. Her numerous articles on contemporary art have been featured in Camera Austria, Flash Art, Kunst-Bulletin, and Texte zur Kunst. She co-curated the touring exhibition Ready to Shoot: Fernsehgalerie Gerry Schum/videogalerie schum at the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf and the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris.
Abstract Expressionism
Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.62 kg, 96 pagesISBN 978-3-8365-0517-8
Edition: EnglishDownload product images here
Born back in 1985, the Basic Art Series has evolved into the best-selling art book collection ever published. Each book in TASCHEN’s Basic Art History series features:
approximately 100 color illustrations with explanatory captions
a detailed, illustrated introduction
a selection of the most important works of the epoch, each presented on a two-page spread with a full-page image and accompanying interpretation, as well as a portrait and brief biography of the artist
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