"A movement in American painting that developed in New York in the 1940s. Most Abstract Expressionists were energetic (or 'gestural') painters. They invariably used large canvases and applied paint rapidly and with force, sometimes using large brushes, sometimes dripping or even throwing paint directly onto the canvas. This expressive method of painting was often considered as important as the painting itself. Other Abstract Expressionist artists were concerned with adopting a peaceful and mystical approach to a purely abstract image. Not all the work from this movement was abstract (Willem De Kooning and Philip Guston) or expressive (Barnett Newmann and Mark Rothko), but it was generally believed that the spontaneity of the artists' approach to their work would draw from and release the creativity of their unconscious minds." The Art Book. London: Phaidon, 2012. 583. Print.
