The New American Abstraction 1950-1970

The title of this 3-volume edition work takes its inspiration from Towards a New
Abstraction, the catalogue of an exhibition organised by Ben Heller in 1963 at the
Jewish Museum in New York, which brought together artists such as Frank Stella,
Paul Brach, Kenneth Noland and Raymond Parker.
The theme unites the artists of this “New Abstraction” through their spirit, as
opposed to the “spirit of the times” reflected in other movements such as
Minimalism and Pop Art. “New Abstraction” is not to be taken as a movement
(some evidence clearly shows the importance of Abstract Expressionism for some)
but as a meeting of attempts in structure that created attraction rather than
grouping. There is no single Zeitgeist; apart from its somewhat complex origins,
“New Abstraction” was intersected at the time with other impulses and currents,
in particular with Neo-Dadaism, the outset of Minimalism and process art.

Claudine Humblet is an art historian and author of a thesis concerning the influence of Constructivism and “De Stijl” on the development of Bauhaus. She is a member of the international association of art critics.