Expect to jostle with vast queues at the Royal Academy, London, for the first multi-artist exhibition of US Abstract Expressionists to take place in the UK since 1959. Exploring the work of the core New York figures – Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, William de Kooning – as well as other Californian exponents such as Clyfford Still and Sam Francis, the works range from colour field and action paintings to much smaller scale items. Women artists at the forefront of the movement also get an airing – with works by Helen Frankenthaler, Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell and Louise Nevelson re-defining the white male stereotype of the school. Herein lies a key point, the show aims to draw attention to the often overlooked diversity of Abstract Expressionism. Arising in the difficult post-World War II years, it unleashed a body of intense and spontaneous works which saw New York take over from Paris as the capital of the art world. (This ‘coup’ famously forms the subject of a book claiming the CIA funded Abstract Expressionism in a conspiracy to boost America’s cultural standing on the world stage.) In pure monetary terms, paintings by the leading Abstract Expressionists are now the ultimate trophy acquisitions. Earlier this year, Chicago billionaire Ken Griffin reportedly paid $500 million for two works by Pollock and de Kooning.
Until January 2nd, 2017 at the Royal Academy, London
www.royalacademy.org.uk
