modern abstract art

Abstract Art has evolved from modern art and is often called Modern Abstract Art. It is art that does not narrate a tale or copy a real object but captures its essence and reality.  Cubism, Futurism and ex-pressionism came under the genre of abstract art. These artists broke the art forms to the very basic giving a glimpse of its entirety in the final form. The art pieces emoted the quality of the subject instead of painting its external structure. Abstract art is also called non- figurative art.

The use of abstraction in art can be traced back to ancient Islamic and Jewish cultures. Human figures were not allowed to be shown in both the cultures which led to the evolution of quality decoration in their art. Calligraphy is an apt example of non figurative art. Western culture has also shown instances of abstraction in their art.
Abstract art is distinct from design and decoration in the sense that it traverses the inner world of emotion and thought. Abstract creation seeks to express visual sensations, well demonstrated in the work of Whistler’s painting ‘Nocturne’. He said that art should deal with the harmonious arrangement of colours. The ‘Falling Rocket’ in 1874 was a big stride in the world of abstraction.

At a later stage, modern abstract art tried to depict spiritualism. This movement was led by Wassily Kandinsky who surmised that nature and science were run by forces which were spiritual in nature. Art should strive to reveal the spirit behind the visual world of matter.

Theosophy and other esoteric sciences left their mark on modern abstract art in terms of thought. The abstractionists sought to divine the psychological powers generated by emotions and thoughts through colour and imagery.
The abstract paintings of 1911 were mainly shown by Malevich, Goncharova, Kandinsky etc. They stood for concepts and manifestos. Two modern abstract painters whose works can be seen today are Sean Scully and Yuko.