The Royal Academy of Arts will be presenting the first exhibition on Abstract Expressionism to be held in the UK for sixty years in September.
This new exhibition will feature over 150 paintings, sculptures and photographs by some of the most acclaimed American artists that embraced the movement.
The works selected for the exhibition will attempt to re-evaluate Abstract Expressionism, arguing that although it was seen to be unified, in reality it was a highly complex phenomenon.
Talking about the exhibition, co-curator Dr David Anfam said: “Abstract Expressionism will explore this vast phenomenon in depth and across different media, revealing both its diversity and continuities as it constantly pushed towards extremes. It will bring together some of the most iconic works from around the world in a display that is unlikely to be repeated in our lifetime.”
Jackson Pollock’s monumental Mural, 1943 and Blue Poles, 1952 will be displayed in the same gallery for the first time – something that is unlikely to happen again after the exhibition closes.
Other highlights in the exhibition will include: Arshile Gorky’s Water of the Flowery Mill, 1944; Willem de Kooning’s Woman II, 1952 and Franz Kline’s Vawdavitch, 1955.
The exhibition is curated by the independent art historian, David Anfam, alongside Edith Devaney, Contemporary Curator at the Royal Academy of Arts.It has been organised by the Royal Academy of Arts, London with the collaboration of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.
Abstract Expressionism will be on display at the Royal Academy of Arts from the 24th September until the 2nd January 2017. The exhibition will then travel to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.