Sunday 6 July 2014

Forms of Abstraction

Forms of Abstraction - Simon C. Dickinson Ltd

6th June - 18th July 2014
Jermyn Street
London

I have been lucky enough to have been offered an internship with the prestigious art dealers Simon C. Dickinson Ltd. Previous to this however they asked me to come in for two weeks to help them prepare for their up coming Abstract Expressionist exhibitions called 'Forms of Abstraction - American Expressionism from the 1950s to Today'.


Please excuse some bias but I was working with incredible people who were both professional and kind and so this in turn had a huge impact on the preview evening and the general feeling of the exhibition.

I must admit I didn't have a huge knowledge of Abstract Expressionism before my time at Dickinson but I read up a lot about it and became transfixed by the art and the theories behind the paintings. The exhibition was curated by the renowned art collecter and writer Susanne Van Hagen as well as many works of art featured in the exhibiton belonged to her.

Here is a brief synopsis of Abstract Expressionism  for those who weren't entirely sure....

  • Avant garde movement in 1940s New York
  • Managed to shift the art worlds focus (which had previously been on Europe to America) 
  • The movers and shakers were artists such as Jackson Pollock, William de Kooning, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell and many others
  • Two sub sections of Abstract Expressionism - Colour Field and Action Painting
  • Many were abstracted rather than being fully abstraction paintings
  • strong use of colour and thick, impasto paint to convey emotion

Susanne Van Hagen with Alabaster SR11-41 (2011) by Sterling Ruby ->




On the ground floor of the building is a stunning space that is the gallery, here all the work was set up and as I was assisting in the organisation of the exhibition I was lucky enough to be able to see the paintings being up packed and hung. This was a completely different way of viewing the paintings and being able to be in a completely deserted gallery surrounded by incredible works of art.



The way that the works were laid out meant that there was a gradual journey throughout the first room and opened out into the large open second room. The second larger room has high ceilings and gives the air of space and harmony. The walls were a huge white expanse which worked well with the scale of the paintings. If the walls had been painted grey which is a fashionable and popular colour at the moment the paintings would have looked less dramatic and fresh.




All of the paintings were so full of colour and the artists expression that the exhibition had a lively and almost carefree attitude, with the artists transferring how they felt through their paintings to be directly received by the viewer made one feel as though they were becoming enveloped in the artists life and way of self expression.


The exhibition is still on so get down there and have a browse and let your mind be blown!


I have just been to Masterpiece art fair so a post on that will be following shortly.


I hope you have enjoyed this post and that hopefully you now feel like you know the beginnings of Abstract Expressionism! Keep reading, keep following, as always a pleasure, until next time....


The Raven's Eye Critic