Abstract illusionism, a name coined by art historian and critic Barbara Rose in 1967. Louis K. Meisel independently coined the term to define an artistic movement that came into prominence in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

during the mid-1970s.

History

The works were generally derivative of expressionistic, and hard-edge abstract painting styles, with the added elements of perspective, artificial light sources, and simulated cast shadows to achieve the illusion of three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface. Abstract illusionism differed from traditional ''

Trompe-l'œil ''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...

'' (fool the eye) art in that the pictorial space seemed to project in front of, or away from, the canvas surface, as opposed to receding into the picture plane as in traditional painting. Primarily, though, these were abstract paintings, as opposed to the realism of ''trompe l'oeil''. By the early 1980s, many of the visual devices that originated in Abstract Illusionism were appropriated into the commercial world and served a wide variety of applications in graphic design, fabric design, and the unlikely decoration of recreational vehicles. This proliferation of commercialism in Abstract Illusionist imagery eventually led to the disintegration of the original artistic movement, as a number of the original artists abandoned working in the style. Pre-1970 forerunners and practitioners of the style include Ronald Davis,

Allan D'Arcangelo Allan D'Arcangelo (June 16, 1930Al Held Al Held (October 12, 1928 – July 27, 2005) was an American Abstract expressionist painter. He was particularly well known for his large scale Hard-edge paintings. As an artist, multiple stylistic changes occurred throughout his career, ho ...

. Artists associated with the 1970s Abstract Illusionism movement, as documented through museum exhibitions and art literature, include

James Havard James Havard (1937 – December 15, 2020) was an American painter and sculptor. He was a pioneer of abstract illusionism in the 1970s. In the 1980s he changed his style into a form of abstract expressionism influenced by Native American and trib ...

Jack Lembeck John Edgar "Jack" Lembeck (born in 1942) is an American painter and sculptor known for his abstract illusionism paintings and installation art. Early life and education Lembeck was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He received a BFA from the Universi ...

, Joe Doyle (artist), Tony King, Jack Reilly,

George D. Green George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President ...

, and

Michael B. Gallagher Michael B. Gallagher (born 1945) is an American painter whose work is associated with Abstract Illusionism. Life Born and raised in Los Angeles, California. In 1964-68 he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern Cali ...

John Mikel Thomas. The first major museum exhibitions to survey Abstract Illusionism were "Abstract Illusionism," Paul Mellon Arts Center, Wallingford, CT, 1977; "Seven New York Artists (Abstract Illusionism)", Sewall Art Gallery,

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universit ...

, Houston, TX, 1977; "Breaking the Picture Plane," Tomasulo Gallery,

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, ...

, Cranford, NJ; and "The Reality of Illusion", curated by Donald Brewer of the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8. ...

, which originated in 1979 at the

Denver Art Museum The Denver Art Museum (DAM) is an art museum located in the Civic Center of Denver, Colorado. With encyclopedic collections of more than 70,000 diverse works from across the centuries and world, the DAM is one of the largest art museums between ...

and traveled to the

Oakland Museum The Oakland Museum of California or OMCA (formerly the Oakland Museum) is an interdisciplinary museum dedicated to the art, history, and natural science of California, located adjacent to Oak Street, 10th Street, and 11th Street in Oakland, Ca ...

, the

Herbert F. Johnson Museum The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art ("The Johnson Museum") is an art museum located on the northwest corner of the Cornell Central Campus#Arts Quadrangle, Arts Quad on the main campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, Ithaca, New York ...

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to ...

, the

, and the

Honolulu Museum of Art The Honolulu Museum of Art (formerly the Honolulu Academy of Arts) is an art museum in Honolulu, Hawaii. The museum is the largest of its kind in the state, and was founded in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke. The museum has one of the largest single co ...

. A number of exhibitions were organized and assembled by the leading dealer of the genre, Louis K. Meisel who presented important artists in solo and group exhibitions throughout the seventies at 141 Prince Street in SoHo. In 1972 the English critic

Bryan Robertson Bryan Robertson OBE (1 April 1925 – 18 November 2002) was an English curator and arts manager described by ''Studio International'' as "the greatest Director the Tate Gallery never had". Biography Robertson was born in London and educated at Ba ...

also used the term “Abstract Illusionism” to characterize sculptures by

Kenneth Draper Kenneth is an English given name and surname. The name is an Anglicised form of two entirely different Gaelic personal names: ''Cainnech'' and '' Cináed''. The modern Gaelic form of ''Cainnech'' is ''Coinneach''; the name was derived from a byna ...

, Nigel Hall and William Tucker and paintings by

Paul Huxley Paul Huxley RA (born 12 May 1938) is a British painter. Biography Huxley was born in London. He attended Harrow School of Art from 1951 to 1956, and the Royal Academy Schools from 1956 to 1960. His first solo exhibition was in 1963 at the Rowa ...

and

Bridget Riley Bridget Louise Riley (born 24 April 1931) is an English painter known for her op art paintings. She lives and works in London, Cornwall and the Vaucluse in France. Early life and education Riley was born on 24 April 1931 in Norwood, London ...

.Walker, John. (1992
"Abstract Illusionism"
''Glossary of Art, Architecture & Design since 1945'', 3rd. ed.

Notes

General references

*Brewer, Donald. ''Reality of Illusion'', American Art Review Press, 1979, *Blaine, Michael. "Complexities of Illusion", ''Artweek'', May, 1980 American contemporary art Contemporary art movements {{modern-art-stub