Lyrical abstraction
Description
A second definition is the usage as a descriptive term. It is a descriptive term characterizing a type of abstract painting related to Abstract Expressionism; in use since the 1940s. Many well known abstract expressionist painters such as Arshile Gorky seen in context have been characterized as doing a type of painting described as lyrical abstraction. Read more ↗
Key Artists
Hans Hartung
German-French pioneer of Lyrical Abstraction whose rhythmic, calligraphic brushstrokes and scraped linear bundles defined post-war Parisian expressive abstraction.
Gérard Schneider
Swiss-French master of Lyrical Abstraction known for his forceful, musical sweeping brushwork that prized immediate emotional cadence over premeditated form.
Wols (Alfred Otto Wolfgang Schulze)
Key founding figure whose intimate, nervous linear improvisations and delicate watercolor stains became the inspirational nucleus of both Lyrical Abstraction and Tachisme.
Pierre Soulages
Prominent French painter of Lyrical Abstraction who built architectural compositions out of broad, luminous black beams of paint applied across light backgrounds.
Georges Mathieu
Co-coiner of the term 'Abstraction Lyrique' in 1947 alongside critic Jean-José Marchand, known for his lightning-fast calligraphic signs painted before live audiences.
Paul Jenkins
American painter working in Paris who contributed to Lyrical Abstraction by pouring unmixed acrylic pools and guiding luminous, fluid veils of color across primed canvases using an ivory knife.
Famous Artworks
Fun Facts
The term 'Abstraction Lyrique' was officially coined in Paris in 1947 by French art critic Jean-José Marchand and painter Georges Mathieu during an exhibition at the Galerie du Luxembourg to distinguish poetic European gesturalism from rigid geometric abstraction.
↗ Source: tate.org.uk
In 1969, American art collector and museum founder Larry Aldrich reused the exact term 'Lyrical Abstraction' to describe a second wave of American painters who softened the hard edges of Minimalism with sensuous, flowing color stains.
↗ Source: theartstory.org