| Begun by artists at the end of the nineteenth century, Expressionism was
a revolutionary movement in painting that was to usher in the new era of
Modern Art. Unlike the Impressionists a quarter century earlier who sought
to the convey in their painting impressions gained from direct observation,
the Expressionists sought to portray only what they felt within themselves
- to transmute subjective feelings through the medium of paint into an 'expression'
on the canvas. Abstract Expressionism originated in the 1940s and
was influenced by earlier 20th century art movements such as Cubism and
Surrealism. The works of Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali promoted abstraction
rather than representation. It wasn't until after the Second World
War that Abstract Expressionism became a major art movement, with New York
replacing Paris as the center of the art world. Some of the more well known
Abstract Expressionists were Mark Rothko (American, 1903-1970), Willem De
Kooning (Dutch-American, 1904-1997), and Jackson Pollock (American, 1912-1956).
With the convergence of digital painting tools and cyberspace at the end
of the 20th century, a new generation of Abstract Expressionists are exhibiting
their art on the World Wide Web. No longer confined to brick-and-mortar
galleries, these artists can now reach a global audience. Edvard Reiter,
whose work is shown below, is representative of this new school of Digital
Abstract Expressionism. |
