Spotlight Series: Abstract Expressionism and Beyond

Throughout the 1950s, Abstract Expressionism (“Ab Ex”) dominated the art world. Its practitioners – artists like Jackson Pollock, Willem De Kooning, and Mark Rothko – aimed to express their inner psyche through energetic brushstrokes, spontaneous drips, and contemplative fields of color on monumental canvases. Their approach to art was highly influential, inspiring artists for many generations.

This installation includes two Ab Ex artworks – one an abstracted human figure, the other a total abstraction – as well as a third that responds to Pollock’s famous drip technique. These works provide a context for the paintings, prints, fashion, sculpture, and photographs on view in the adjacent exhibition, Pop ‘n’ Op.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website