Neo-expressionism is a style of late modernist or early-postmodern painting and sculpture that emerged in the late 1970s. It is characterized by intense subjectivity and rough handling of materials, developed as a reaction against conceptual art and minimal art of the 1970s. Neo-expressionists returned to portraying recognizable objects, such as the human body (although sometimes in an abstract manner), in a rough and violently emotional way, often using vivid colors. It was overtly inspired by German Expressionist painters, such as Emil Nolde, Max Beckmann, George Grosz, Ernst Ludwig...
Neo-Expressionism Art Movement
Neo-expressionism is a style of late modernist or early-postmodern painting and sculpture that emerged in the late 1970s. It is characterized by intense subjectivity and rough handling of materials, developed as a reaction against conceptual art and minimal art of the 1970s. Neo-expressionists returned to portraying recognizable objects, such as the human body (although sometimes in an abstract manner), in a rough and violently emotional way, often using vivid colors. It was overtly inspired by German Expressionist painters, such as Emil Nolde, Max Beckmann, George Grosz, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, James Ensor and Edvard Munch.
Neo-expressionism developed internationally and was viewed by many critics as a revival of traditional themes of self-expression in European art after decades of American dominance. The movement became known as Transavanguardia in Italy, Neue Wilden in Germany, and the group Figuration Libre was formed in France in 1981.
Neo-expressionism is related to American Lyrical Abstraction painting of the 1960s and 1970s, The Hairy Who movement in Chicago, the Bay Area Figurative School of the 1950s and 1960s, the continuation of Abstract Expressionism, precedents in Pop Painting, and New Image Painting.
Neo-expressionism dominated the art market until the mid-1980s. The style emerged internationally and was viewed by many critics as a revival of traditional themes of self-expression in European art after decades of American dominance. The social and economic value of the movement was hotly debated. From the point of view of the history of Modern Art, art critic Robert Hughes dismissed Neo-Expressionist painting as retrograde, as a failure of radical imagination, and as a lamentable capitulation to the art market. Critics such as Benjamin Buchloh, Hal Foster, Craig Owens, and Mira Schor were highly critical of its relation to the marketability of painting on the rapidly expanding art market, celebrity, the backlash against feminism, anti-intellectualism, and a return to mythic subjects and individualist methods they deemed outmoded.
Neo-expressionism is also related to Neo-futurism, an avant-garde movement in the arts, design, and architecture that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is considered in part an evolution out of high-tech architecture, developing many of the same themes and ideas. Neo-futurism was revitalised in 2007 after the publication of "The Neo-Futuristic City Manifesto" by innovation designer Vito Di Bari to outline his vision for the city of Milan at the time of the Universal Expo 2015.
Neo-expressionism is also related to Neo-Dada, a movement with audio, visual and literary manifestations that had similarities in method or intent with earlier Dada artwork. It sought to close the gap between art and daily life, and was a combination of playfulness, iconoclasm, and appropriation. In the United States the term was popularized by Barbara Rose in the 1960s and refers primarily, although not exclusively, to work created in that and the preceding decade. There was also an international dimension to the movement, particularly in Japan and in Europe, serving as the foundation of Fluxus, Pop Art and Nouveau réalisme.
Neo-expressionism has been exemplified by its use of modern materials, popular imagery, and absurdist contrast. It was a reaction to the personal emotionalism of Abstract Expressionism and, taking a lead from the practice of Marcel Duchamp and Kurt Schwitters, denied traditional concepts of aesthetics.
Neo-expressionism Paintings
Painting by 'Jean Michel Basquiat' : Jim Crow (View painting details)
(( 206 x 244 cm , Neo Expressionism , Crayon , )))
Painting by 'Richard Spare' : Feisty Firecrest (View painting details)
(( 25 x 29 cm , Victoria and Albert Museum (London, United Kingdom) , Neo Expressionism , Watercolor , )))
Painting by 'Julian Schnabel' : Untitled (Surfer) (View painting details)
(( Neo Expressionism , Photography , )))
Painting by 'Julian Schnabel' : Untitled (Surfer) (View painting details)
(( Neo Expressionism , Photography , )))
Painting by 'Jean Michel Basquiat' : Mace (View painting details)
(( 57 x 77 cm , Daros Collection (Zürich, Switzerland) , Neo Expressionism , Charcoal , )))
Neo-expressionism Artists
Eric Fischl (View artist profile)
( (Artist) Eric Fischl (born March 9, 1948) is an American painter, printmaker and draughtsman. His wife is painter April Gornik. Fisch