BARBARA HESS

Abstract expressionism—the non-representational use of paint as a means of personal expression—emerged in America in the 1940s, inspired by the innovative work of Arshile Gorky. Considered the first art movement originating in the Americas to have a worldwide influence, abstract expressionism spawned two very different sub-categories: action painting (exemplified by Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock) and color field painting, made most famous by Mark Rothko. Abstract expressionists strove to express emotions and ideas directly on canvas via color, form and texture—the quality of brushstrokes and other marks, the dripping of paint, for example—while embracing accident and chance, and celebrating the very act of painting. Featured artists: William Baziotes, Helen Frankenthaler, Arshile Gorky, Adolph Gottlieb, Philip Guston, Hans Hofmann, Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning, Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, Robert Motherwell, Barnett Newman, Jackson Pollock, Ad Reinhardt, Mark Rothko, David Smith, Theodoros Stamos, Clyfford Still, Mark Tobey, Bradley Walter Tomlin About the Series: Every book in TASCHEN's Basic Art Series features: a detailed chronological summary of the artist's life and work, covering the cultural and historical importance of the artist approximately 100 color illustrations with explanatory captions a concise biography About the author: Barbara Hess (b. 1964) is an art historian, critic and translator, resident in Cologne. Her numerous articles on contemporary art have featured in Camera Austria, Flash Art, Kunst-Bulletin and Texte zur Kunst. She co-curated the touring exhibition Ready to Shoot: Fernsehgalerie Gerry Schum/videogalerie schum at the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf and the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. Her TASCHEN titles include a monograph on Willem de Kooning.

Willem de Kooning (1904 - 1997), foi um pintor holandês do expressionismo abstrato.

"Abstract expressionism" refers to the non-representational use of form and color as a means of expression that emerged in America in the 1940s, largely thanks to the innovative work of Arshile Gorky. Interestingly, abstract expressionism is considered to be the first movement originating in America to have a worldwide influence. Two very different sub-categories of the movement developed: "action painting" (exemplified notably by Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock) and "color field painting," made most famous by Mark Rothko. Abstract expressionists strove to express pure emotion directly on canvas, via color and especially texture (the surface quality of the brushstroke), by embracing "accidents," and celebrating painting itself as a communicative action.

En el campo social y mnoral o intelectual, el arte no tiene ninguna función que cumplir. En la sociedad, el artista sólo tiene una tarea: mantener vivo el sentimiento de ser humano Lucio Fontana

El pintor norteamericano de origen holandés Willem de Kooning (1904-1997) era un líder del movimiento expresionista abstracto. Inspirado por Arshile Gorki para abandonar el estilo realista que había dominado su trabajo en los años de 1930, comenzo a experimentar con lo abstracto en los años de 1940 y el exito critico llego rapidamente. Las series de sus mujeres monumentales de los años de 1950 -caracterizado por colores intensos e insinuaciones agresivas- fue recibida con controversia y a su vez con aclamacion. Continuo pintando hasta finales de 1980, dejando atras una extensa e impresionante cantidad de trabajo.

La serie menor de Taschen es una colección que reúne a los artistas más relevantes de la historia del arte, desde Caravaggio a Francis Bacon, Leonardo Da Vinci o Andy Warhol. Cada libro dedicado a un artista específico, incluye magníficas reproducciones a todo color y textos amenos sobre su vida y obra.