A European Artist Sees American Painting

Abstract

The most prevailing trends in contemporary American paintings are nonobjective or abstract and expressionistic abstract. William de Kooming, for example, seems to me an important representative of the former movement. So are Hilla Rebay, Leatrice Rose and Seong Moy. In the other group, the expressionistic abstract painters, I consider among others Cusumano, Adler, Knaths, Kuniyoshi, Burlin, and Ben Shahn, as representative. In Europe there are also numerable nonobjective artists, but mostly belonging to the older generation. Fifteen to twenty years ago most young European artists painted in the abstract or nonobjective manner. But with the younger generation of today, we see a different trend—expressionistic abstract. This is different from the expressionism of the period right after World War 1. This new form has much more organization, and that, to me, is the important lesson of the abstract painters. The value of the pure abstract art is recognized today by the expressionistic abstract painters. In most western European countries one finds this trend generally prevailing. It seems to me that in America, contrary to Europe, the younger generation is still working in the pure abstract or nonobjective manner. However, as I said before, the expressionistic abstract movement is important too.