Abstract expressionism can be roughly divided into two general types. Jackson Pollock was representative of "action" or "gesture" painting, in which the artist's process and movements were an important aspect of the end result.. Pollock created many so-called "drip" paintings, some in black and white and others with color;

Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock both developed their painting styles in New York during the 1940s and 1950s. They were part of a group of artists now known as the abstract expressionists. Although each of the artists associated with this movement worked in a very individual style, they were linked by the desire to find a new means of artistic expression. Rather than including recognizable objects in their work, they used the elements of painting itself – color, line, shape, brushstrokes, texture, and light – to express emotions. Their influences included prehistoric cave paintings, Native American, pre-Columbian, Mexican, and African art, along with the modern European movement, surrealism, which looked to dreams and the unconscious for subject matter.

Although artists rarely want to be categorized, the label "abstract expressionism" aptly describes their work. The paintings are completely abstract, with no recognizable objects from the real world (another term for completely abstract is NON-OBJECTIVE), and the purpose of their art is to create expression and emotion.

Jackson Pollock 1912-1956

"When I am in my painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It is only after a sort of "get acquainted" period that I see what I have been about. I have no fears about making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through. It is only when I lose contact

with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy give and

take, and the painting comes out well."

The Moon-Woman Cuts the Circle (1943)

Oil on canvas - 43" X 69"

Peggy Guggenheim Collection - Venice

Blue (Moby Dick) 1943

Jackson Pollock, Blue Poles: Number II, 1952

Lavendar Mist No 1 1950

Cathedral 1947

Shimmering Substance1946

On the floor I am more at ease, I feel nearer, more a part of the painting, since this way I can walk around in it, work from the four sides and be literally `in' the painting. -- Jackson Pollock, 1947.

The Moon-Woman 1942 (170 Kb); Oil on canvas, 69 x 43 in; Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice

Stenographic Figure 1942 (180 Kb); Oil on canvas, 40 x 56 in; The Museum of Modern Art, New York

Eyes in the Heat 1946 (320 Kb); Oil on canvas, 54 x 43 in; Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice

The Key 1946 (270 Kb); Oil on canvas,

The Tea Cup 1946 (230 Kb); Oil on canvas

Number 8, 1949 (detail) 1949

                 

      

  

        

Enchanted Forest, 1947. Oil on canvas, 221.3 x 114.6 cm. Peggy Guggenheim Collection. 76.2553 PG 151. Jackson Pollock © 2005 The Pollock-Krasner Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

                                            

           

Untitled (Green Silver), ca. 1949. Enamel and aluminum paint on paper mounted on canvas, 22 3/4 x 30 3/4 inches. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Gift of Sylvia and Joseph Slifka. 2004.63. Jackson Pollock © 2005 The Pollock-Krasner Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

                                         

   

           

Ocean Greyness, 1953. Oil on canvas, 57 3/4 x 90 1/8 inches. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. 54.1408. Jackson Pollock © 2005 The Pollock-Krasner Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

             

                                                                                                                

Troubled Queen1945Jackson Pollock, American, 1912–1956Oil and enamel on canvas

                                                                                                           

                  

Number 101949Jackson Pollock, American, 1912–1956Oil, enamel and aluminum paint on canvas mounted on panel

Autumn Rhythm No 30

Jackson Pollock

Untitled

1951

This drawing is a near duplicate of another. Pollock placed two sheets of thin rice-paper on top of one another and dripped black and red ink onto the first so that much of it bled through to this second sheet; he then added touches of white gouache. The drawings were probably done on 16 January 1951 at a birthday party for the artist's friend, chief supporter and great champion of Abstract Expressionism, the critic Clement Greenberg. Pollock gave the other version to Greenberg.

Jackson Pollock

Untitled

about 1942 - 1944

Pollock’s early work was figurative, becoming increasingly abstract over time until the ‘drip’ paintings of the early 1950s, for which he is most famous. This work features a human figure drawn in black ink. Another figure, possibly an animal, has been added over the top. The main body of this figure is in red ink, and its head is to the right of that of the drawn figure. A severe alcoholic with emotional difficulties, Pollock underwent psychoanalysis between 1937 and 1943, producing drawings as part of his therapy.

•Accession no. GMA 2198

•Medium Oil, pen and ink, and watercolour on paper

•Size 33.50 x 50.70 cm

•Subjects Abstract

•Credit Purchased 1980

                                                                                                                                                                                           

 

Jackson Pollock. (American, 1912-1956). The Flame. c. 1934-38. Oil on canvas mounted on composition board, 20 12 x 30" (51.1 x 76.2 cm). Enid A. Haupt Fund. © 2006 Pollock-Krasner Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

                                                                                                                    

 Jackson Pollock. (American, 1912-1956). Free Form. 1946. Oil on canvas, 19 1/4 x 14" (48.9 x 35.5 cm). The Sidney and Harriet Janis Collection. © 2006 Pollock-Krasner Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

                                                                                                                                                                                           

 

Jackson Pollock. (American, 1912-1956). Untitled. (c. 1950). Ink on paper, 18 7/8 x 24 3/4" (47.9 x 63.1 cm). The Joan and Lester Avnet Fund. © 2006 Pollock-Krasner Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

                                                                                                                                                                                           

 Jackson Pollock. (American, 1912-1956). Untitled. (1951). Black and sepia ink on mulberry paper, 25 x 38 3/4" (63.5 x 98.4 cm). Gift of Lee Krasner in memory of Jackson Pollock. © 2006 Pollock-Krasner Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

                                                                                                                                                       

 Jackson Pollock. (American, 1912-1956). Echo: Number 25, 1951. 1951. Enamel on unprimed canvas, 7' 7 7/8" x 7' 2" (233.4 x 218.4 cm). Acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest and the Mr. and Mrs. David Rockefeller Fund. © 2006 Pollock-Krasner Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

                                                                                                                                                                                           

 

Jackson Pollock. (American, 1912-1956). Painting. (1953-54). a. Oil and gouache on paper b. Brush and black and red ink, 15 3/4 x 20 1/2" (40.0 x 52.1 cm). Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Ira Haupt. © 2006 Pollock-Krasner Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

                                                                                                                                

 

Jackson Pollock. (American, 1912-1956). White Light. 1954. Oil, enamel, and aluminum paint on canvas, 48 1/4 x 38 1/4" (122.4 x 96.9 cm). The Sidney and Harriet Janis Collection. © 2006 Pollock-Krasner Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Don’t you want to try a gesture (drip) painting now?