A brief overview of what abstraction and abstract art entail. A single definition of abstraction can be challenging, even if, on the surface, it is art that doesn’t seek to capture a naturalistic depiction of reality. This video focuses on a variety of modern and contemporary art by artists such as Piet Mondrian, Alma Thomas, Joan Miró, Diego Rivera, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Willem de Kooning, and many others.

Speaker: Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank

CHAPTERS

0:00 Introduction to abstraction and abstract art

1:03 Early 20th-century abstraction: Piet Mondrian

1:39 Joan Miró

2:26 Jeffrey Gibson and Diego Rivera

3:10 Alma Thomas and Yuki Katsura

3:38 Donald Judd and Ruth Asawa

Learn more

• Learn more about the modern world: https://www.artsq.org/modern-world

• Check out our entire glossary of art history: https://www.artsq.org/about-key-terms-ideas-art-history