Lyrical abstraction is a movement within abstract painting. This technique consists of composing an artwork by gluing a wide range of materials, including pieces of paper, fabric, newspaper clippings, and sometimes readymade objects, to a surface. This technique is also known as sgraffito or scratch art.Ĭollage - Its name comes from the French and means to glue. In this way the color underneath is discovered. Grattage - This technique consists of covering a colored surface and then scratching over the final coat. Its name means rubbing and, obviously, it consists of printing textures placed under the paper. Jemal points out that the most famous representative of this this technique is artist Jackson Pollock.įrottage - This is another of the used techniques. Among these techniques we find:ĭripping - Thanks to its strong expressiveness, this is one of the most used techniques. Artists of this current used different methods to represent their immediate emotion. Jemal shares that another important characteristic of this current is the set of techniques used. Techniques Jemal Uses in Lyrical Abstraction This is because in lyrical abstraction color predominates over shape. The artists of this current prefer using watercolors. One of these characteristics is the example of the technique used.

In this way they can create emotions starting from scratch.īesides the representation of abstraction, lyrical abstraction has other characteristics. Artists of lyrical abstraction create new forms that by themselves do not represent anything. This is because objective reality leads the public to get their own impressions about the meaning of such objects. This is done in a way that can be understood and shared by the public.Īs Jemal has previously spoken, painters of this type of abstraction refuse to represent objective reality. Lyrical abstraction artworks are specific because they manage to transmit artist's emotion. Wassily Kandinsky, an artist who made abstractions loaded with feeling, is one of the most famous representatives of this artistic trends. Jemal explains that lyrical abstraction is an artistic trend in which artists refuse to represent reality objectively. Below, Jemal focuses on explaining a type of freewheeling abstract painting, known as lyrical abstraction. Marvin Jemal is a painter who takes pride in studying all art forms, currents and techniques. With public support from the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.The term abstract painting encompasses many things, many different currents and styles.

This exhibit features work by lyrical abstract artists in the Museum’s permanent collection including Poons, Natkin, Francis, Marlene Mueller, and Sharon Jesik, among others.

Their work was created, in part, in reaction to the streamlined aesthetics, coolness, and political implications of Minimalist and Conceptual Art.ĭubbed “lyrical abstractionists,” these artists made work characterized by loose gestural brushstrokes, acrylic staining, an emphasis on rich color, monumental scale, occasional imagery, and a return to a physical and direct sensory experience of painting. These artists sought to expand the idea of abstract painting and to reassert the importance of the formal elements of line and color. American Lyrical Abstraction developed as an art movement in the 1960s and 70s led by a group of artists including Dan Christensen, Larry Poons, Helen Frankenthaler, Robert Natkin, and Sam Francis.