Abstract Expressionism

Interesting show at Royal Academy looking at the work of the American Expressionist artists.

I’ll come clean straight away, as you’ll know if you read these mutterings, I don’t like abstract art and I found some of this particularly difficult. I went to the show, apart from the fact I try to get to everything, to learn more about the form and maybe start to appreciate it more but I’m afraid it didn’t work!

I liked the way the show was roughly arranged by artists or groups of artists with some of them getting early and late rooms so it gave you a distinct view of all of them.

I still love Rothko and I’m not sure why! I remember the wonderful Tate show a few years ago which explained the work well and I really warmed to it. However the rest left me quite cold. I get that the work is about the artist expressing their emotions but given how many of them seemed to end up committing suicide I’m not sure that expressing them helped! I like art to uplift me and enlighten me not drag me into the artist’s depression and sort of leave me there! 

Closes on 2 Jan 2017

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