Action/Abstraction: Abstract Expressionism and Postwar America

FAIN: MI-50091-07

Jewish Museum (New York, NY 10128-0118)
Ruth Beesch (Project Director: January 2007 to October 2009)

Implementation of a major traveling exhibition examining the emergence of abstract art in postwar America and the political and social context in which it emerged.

Action/Abstraction: Abstract Expressionism and Postwar America is the first major exhibition in 20 years to re-evaluate Abstract Expressionism and the movements that followed. The show is organized by The Jewish Museum and will be presented at 3 US venues: The Jewish Museum, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY, and the St. Louis Art Museum. The exhibition addresses the emergence of abstraction as a dominant style in mid-20th century American art; the importance of criticism in understanding this revolutionary art; and the political and social context in which it emerged. The show presents a fresh look at the painting and sculpture that transformed the art world after World War II and provides US audiences with the opportunity to view and understand masterpieces of Abstract Expressionism--the first American art movement to attain international renown. The show will be accompanied by a major scholarly catalogue published by Yale University Press, a website and public programs.