Abstract illusionism
Description
Abstract illusionism is a name coined by art historian and critic Barbara Rose in 1967. Louis K. Meisel independently coined the term to define an artistic movement that came into prominence in the United States during the mid-1970s. Read more ↗
Key Artists
James Havard
Widely recognized as a pioneer of 1970s Abstract Illusionism, creating gestural splatters, drips, and scrawled lines rendered with airbrushed drop shadows to make them float above the canvas surface.
Jack Lembeck
Leading painter of the mid-1970s movement who combined Abstract Expressionism and Op Art by painting vibrant spots, strokes, and splashes that appear to levitate in three-dimensional space over flat backgrounds.
Ronald Davis
Crucial pre-1970s forerunner and major practitioner of illusionistic space, utilizing polyester resin, fiberglass, and strict geometric perspective to project forms outward toward the viewer.
Al Held
Foundational forerunner whose large-scale geometric hard-edge canvases rejected Clement Greenberg's flat picture plane dogma by introducing complex, monumental three-dimensional illusionistic structures.
Jack Reilly
Prominent 1970s Abstract Illusionist painter featured in major museum surveys, known for complex shaped canvases with floating geometric elements and trompe l'oeil shadow effects.
Famous Artworks
Fun Facts
Art critic Barbara Rose coined the term 'Abstract Illusionism' in a October 1967 Artforum article, but New York art dealer Louis K. Meisel independently coined the exact same term in the mid-1970s to define and organize museum surveys for artists like James Havard and Jack Lembeck.
↗ Source: en.wikipedia.org
Abstract Illusionism directly rebelled against the influential 'flatness dogma' enforced by formalist critics Clement Greenberg and Harold Rosenberg, who insisted that true modern abstract painting must never simulate three-dimensional perspective or cast shadows.
↗ Source: en.wikipedia.org