Abstract art: what is it, characteristics, types, artists and most important works

Abstract art or concrete art are those artistic expressions based on elements such as line, point, color and material as a self-sufficient language independent of the reproduction of recognizable objects, that is, of the figurativeism.

Although throughout history we can recognize abstract elements in plastic expressions, abstract art as current only appears in the twentieth century, when a series of movements emerged that are grouped under the name of abstractionism. Now, what does abstract art express? How was abstract art born? How many types of abstractionism are there?

Characteristics of abstract art

Abstract art or abstractionism brings together a set of movements that are different from each other. Still, we can summarize some fundamental shared characteristics.

Renounce figurativeism or naturalism

Abstract art renounces figurativeism completely by dispensing with representing recognizable objects. In this way, he confirms a blow against the Western tradition that, until the 19th century, was based on the imitation of nature.

Protagonism of the plastic elements

In abstract art, the leading role is played by the plastic elements themselves, on which all the significant weight is loaded. The line, the point, the color, the plane, the geometry (flat or spatial), the material and the composition are the focus of interest of the artist, and not mere resources to refer external elements to the work.

Contemplative spirit focused on aesthetics

Abstract art promotes a contemplative spirit in the face of art forms themselves, a contemplation capable of appreciating and accepting the aesthetic dimension of a work as a value self-sufficient.

Liberation of art from the subject

By eliminating the referent, that is, by renouncing the representation of objects, abstractionism frees art from subordination to the subject. With this, it affirms the possibility that it is valued with absolute autonomy. In this way, he leaves behind the idea of ​​artistic transcendence associated with the great stories (religion, mythology, history and even psychological narratives in some cases).

Compositional freedom

The abstract art approach favors originality and absolute freedom of artists in terms of plastic composition. For this reason, abstractionism groups totally differentiable tendencies from each other that, in addition, have managed to impact contemporary visual culture.

Origin of abstractionism: how was abstract art born?

As a current, the origin of abstract art is usually fixed in the year 1910 with the appearance of the work First abstract watercolor of the Russian painter Vasili Kandinsky or Kandinsky. However, it cannot be said that the Russian painter was the first to explore abstraction, as this was an interest shared by other artists of his generation.

Until the 19th century, Western art was characterized by figurativeism or the reproduction of recognizable figures (technically, this is called "naturalism"). Thanks to the post-impressionist generation of the last third of the nineteenth century, art began to register a tendency towards figurative synthesis, which focused attention on the modes of interpretation of the reality.

The final impulse would have been given by movements such as Expressionism and Fauvism on the one hand, and the Cubist avant-garde on the one hand. the other, which gave rise to two types of abstractionism: lyrical abstraction and geometric abstraction respectively. To understand this, let's look at the text below.

Types of abstract art

There are two essential types of abstraction: lyrical abstraction and geometric abstraction. Each of these types allows us to group the movements of abstract art according to their predominant elements.

Lyrical, informal or emotional abstraction

Lyrical abstraction encompasses all abstract styles that use free elements, without strict processes of geometric or mathematical rationalization, that is, without predefined rules. Expressiveness, intuition, and often spontaneity prevail in these styles.

Geometric, structural or rational abstraction

Geometric abstraction is one that is based on the geometric and mathematical rationalization of shapes. According to Víctor Guédez in his book Approach and understanding of contemporary art, "responds to precise logical and calculated structures". This type of approach distances geometric abstraction from the principles of intuition and expressiveness typical of its predecessor, lyrical abstractionism.

Abstract art movements

Abstract art movements can be grouped according to the type of abstraction they practiced.

Stream of lyrical, informal or emotional abstraction

From a historical perspective, lyrical abstraction as a deliberate current had its beginning around the year 1910 and its greatest exponent was Vasili Kandinsky. The Russian painter was based on the principle of harmonic composition of color, the point and the line on the plane as significant entities, bordering on the principles of musical harmony.

Among the most well-known movements of this current, we can mention the following:

• Rayonism (h. 1912): he focused his interest on the dynamic and rhythmic ordering of light, color and rays.
• Gesturalism, action painting or action painting (1945): takes advantage of the chromaticism produced from techniques such as dripping (dripping paint).
• Abstract expressionism (1950): emphasizes the creative process, based on automatism and chromatic and graphic improvisation.
• Neo-expressionism (1980): movement that promotes the renewal of the paradigms of abstract art.
• Savage painting (1980): radicalizes the spontaneity of lines and colors.

Movements of geometric abstraction

As a conscious and deliberate current, geometric abstraction begins shortly after lyrical abstraction, around the year 1914 approximately. Under the concept of geometric abstraction the following movements can be grouped:

• Constructivism (h. 1914): it is based on spatial geometry, materials and construction principles, aspects that brought it closer to design.
• Suprematism (1915): focused his attention on the absolute values ​​of plane geometry (squares, circles, rectangles and triangles) and the basic compositional elements (simple or intersecting straight lines).
• Neoplasticism (1917): it was also known as De Stijl. Reduce geometric elements to perpendicular lines and reduce the color palette.
• Optical art (1960): works on optical illusions through the manipulation of light and color.
• Kinetic (1967): works with the principle of immateriality between matter, seeking the perception of movement.
• Minimalism or Primary Structures (1968): according to Guédez, it is based on the absolute economy of material resources and the reduction of formal structures.
• Neogeometrism (1980): returns to the principles of geometric simplification.

He may interest you:

• Kinetic art or kineticism: its characteristics and most important artists
• Artistic movements of the 20th century

Main artists and works of abstract art

Since abstraction encompasses a great diversity of movements and expressions since its origins, we are going to refer in this section to some of the pioneers of abstract art in the 20th century.

Vasili Kandinsky (Russia, 1866-France, 1944)

Vasili Kandinsky (or Kandinsky) was a Russian-born painter, musician, and art theorist considered a precursor of the lyrical abstractionism and an influential figure of expressionism, especially of the group The Blue Horseman (Der blauer Raiter). He was the author of the books Of the spiritual in art Y Point and Line to Plane.

Some of the most important works were: The blue rider (from his figurative stage, 1909); First abstract watercolor (1910); Composition VIII (1923) and Yellow, red and blue (1925).

El Lissitzky (Russia, 1890-1941)

Painter, sculptor, photographer, illustrator, designer, architect, publicist and publisher of Jewish origin, with a revolutionary and progressive thought, which is why he assiduously collaborated with the revolution Russian. He believed in an art that was at the service of society. He was a distinguished representative of Russian constructivism. He dabbles in utopian architecture. In his last years, he began to suffer censorship from the government, which saw the vanguards as a threat and preferred the controllable lines of socialist realism.

Some outstanding works were: Hit the whites with the red wedge (poster, 1920); Composition (1920); New man (1923); Proun 99 (1924); illustrations for the book For voiceby Vladimir Mayakovsky (1920).

Kazimir Malevich (Ukraine, 1879-Russia, 1935)

Malevich was a painter who ventured into different currents such as cubofuturism, before creating the movement that would give him his definitive artistic projection, known as Suprematism. He was accused of espionage in the service of the Poles, for which he had to spend three months in prison.

Among the best known works of him can be mentioned The knife sharpener (from his cub-futurist stage, 1912); Suprematist composition (1916); Black box on white background (1915) and White on white (1918).

Piet Mondrian (Netherlands, 1872-USA) 1944)

Avant-garde painter. He is the founder of the movement known as Neoplasticism and a member of the De Stijl group. Before Neoplasticism, he dabbled in traditional art, passing through the symbolism of the late 19th century. Among his best-known works we can mention the following: Composition VII (1913); Composition in red, yellow, blue, white and black (1921) and Composition in lines, second state (1916-1917).

Jackson Pollock (USA) 1912-1956)

American painter. Maximum representative of abstract expressionism and action painting. He was the creator of the technique dripping, which consists of the "blasting" of the paint, which gave it great notoriety.

Among his best-known works we can mention: The wolf (1943); Mural (1943); One (1950); Convergence (1952); Blue poles (1952).