Abstract Expressionism

Abstract expressionism was one of the first major recognized art movements that was specifically American in its origins; first being used to describe Wassily Kandinsky’s work like “The Sensual” shown above. Although the abstract expressionist movement spread quickly throughout the United States, New York and the San Francisco Bay Area were the epicenters of the movement in the 1940’s and the 1950’s when the style was first recognized and made popular. The groups of loosely associated artists that founded the movement differentiated themselves with a stylistically diverse body of work that introduced radical new directions in art and shifted the art world's focus.

The art work its self had an image of being rebellious and idiosyncratic, valuing spontaneity and improvisation. Abstract expressionist pieces can be categorized into two major groups, some have an emphasis on dynamic energetic movement in the piece, like many of Jackson Pollock’s pieces, and some abstract expressionists use more of a color blocking technique, with more of the focus on large fields of color, like Hans Hoffman or Clyfford Still. The most substantial element that held these first artists of the movement together was the philosophy behind their work and not the actual aesthetic elements of it.

The movement attributes the highest importance to the process and the development of the piece, not just the finished product. To see Robert Harris paint live is to see the greatest aspect of abstract expressionism. The strokes used, the color dynamics, and the energy that Harris possesses behind the brush are the true stylistic techniques that define the movement. Many of Harris’ pieces possess these primary characteristics of abstract expressionism, for example, “Stained” shown below with its distinct blocks of color, dripped paint, and evident action, it demonstrates the spontaneity and energetic quality that is central to the abstract expressionsim.