Extreme Abstraction

Catalog description

Although we can trace the roots of abstraction to non-modern times and find its beginning as a concept in the visual arts in the late 18th and through-out the 19th century, it is a predominantly 20th century phenomenon. During the beginning of the 20th century there were many artists who turned to nonfigural practices for reasons that were mostly cultural and political. The world was changing and the artists wanted art to change as well. Although these reasons were about creating new ways of seeing and representing the world the sources for these visions varied from artist to artist. Scientific discoveries dealing with concepts of evolution, bacteria, atomic theory and astronomy contributed to those artists theorizing and producing abstract works of art. And although the work took on a look that may have been associated with decoration, most artists denied this connection for fearing that their work would not be taken seriously. Merely decorative! Abstraction since then has gone through many manifestations. The artists of today are no longer just going through the process of abstracting but are now producing abstract work that has its own history, rules and grammar. Issues of science, spirituality, primitivism and the decorative still resonate in the work of late 20th and early 21st century artists. But what is different?