Abstract Art

Abstract art is considered to be completely non-objective or non-representational. It uses a visual language of form colour and line to reveal elemental meaning and emotion. Abstraction indicates a departure from reality in depiction of subject matter in art; however, there are degrees of abstraction. Whilst purely abstract work such as that of Sandra Blow or Piet Mondrian has no subject matter at all, other works can depict subjects that have been abstracted but are still recognizable, as in the portraits of Picasso.

The fragmented compositions of Cubism opened the door to abstraction, expounding the belief that all natural forms could be reduced to the most simple of shapes and eliminating any concern for perspective. These concepts advanced to ‘a desire to paint new structures of elements that have not been borrowed from the visual sphere, but have been entirely created by the artist…it is a pure art.’

Abstract art has had a long and varied history, ranging from the experiments of the cubists to contemporary art. A diverse range of artists and movements can be included in the canon of abstract art: the Suprematists, De Stijl, Orphism and Futurism in the 1910s, the Constructivists in 1920s Russia and the Bauhaus in Germany, the Abstract Expressionism of America in the 50s and 60s, being the most famous examples.

In Britain the first abstract art exhibition was held in 1935, early advocates here included Barabara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson who started an artistic colony at St. Ives, where later Terry Frost and Sandra Blow would also work.