Geometric abstraction is a form of

abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a Composition (visual arts), composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non- ...

based on the use of geometric forms sometimes, though not always, placed in non-illusionistic space and combined into non-objective (non-representational) compositions. Although the genre was popularized by

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

artists in the early twentieth century, similar motifs have been used in art since ancient times.

History

Geometric abstraction is present among many cultures throughout history both as decorative motifs and as art pieces themselves.

Islamic art Islamic art is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslims, Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across ...

, in its prohibition of depicting religious figures, is a prime example of this geometric pattern-based art, which existed centuries before the movement in Europe and in many ways influenced this Western school. Aligned with and often used in the architecture of Islamic civilations spanning the 7th century-20th century, geometric patterns were used to visually connect spirituality with science and art, both of which were key to Islamic thought of the time.

Scholarly analysis

Throughout 20th-century art historical discourse, critics and artists working within the reductive or pure strains of abstraction have often suggested that geometric abstraction represents the height of a non-objective art practice, which necessarily stresses or calls attention to the root plasticity and two-dimensionality of painting as an artistic medium. Thus, it has been suggested that geometric abstraction might function as a solution to problems concerning the need for modernist painting to reject the illusionistic practices of the past while addressing the inherently two dimensional nature of the picture plane as well as the canvas functioning as its support.

Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky ( – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter and art theorist. Kandinsky is generally credited as one of the pioneers of abstract art, abstraction in western art. Born in Moscow, he spent his childhood in ...

, one of the forerunners of pure non-objective painting, was among the first modern artists to explore this geometric approach in his abstract work. Other examples of pioneer abstractionists such as Kasimir Malevich and

Piet Mondrian Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), known after 1911 as Piet Mondrian (, , ), was a Dutch Painting, painter and Theory of art, art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He w ...

have also embraced this approach towards abstract painting. Mondrian's painting "Composition No. 10" (1939–1942) clearly defines his radical but classical approach to the construction of horizontal and vertical lines, as Mondrian wrote, "constructed with awareness, but not with calculation, led by high intuition, and brought to harmony and rhythm." Just as there are both two-dimensional and three-dimensional geometries, the abstract sculpture of the 20th century was of course no less affected than painting by geometricizing tendencies. Georges Vantongerloo and Max Bill, for example, are perhaps best known for their geometric sculpture, although both of them were also painters; and indeed, the ideals of geometric abstraction find nearly perfect expression in their titling (e.g., Vantongerloo's "Construction in the Sphere") and pronouncements (e.g., Bill's statement that "I am of the opinion that it is possible to develop an art largely on the basis of mathematical thinking.") Expressionist abstract painting, as practiced by artists such as

Jackson Pollock Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter. A major figure in the abstract expressionist movement, Pollock was widely noticed for his "Drip painting, drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household ...

, Franz Kline,

Clyfford Still Clyfford Still (November 30, 1904 – June 23, 1980) was an American Painting, painter, and one of the leading figures in the first generation of Abstract Expressionists, who developed a new, powerful approach to painting in the years immediat ...

, and

Wols WOLS (106.1 MHz) is a Regional Mexican radio station, owned by Norsan Media. Licensed to Waxhaw, North Carolina, the station identifies itself as “La Raza 106.1”. The station’s studios are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the tra ...

, represents the opposite of geometric abstraction.

Relationship with music

Abstract art has also historically been likened to

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

in its ability to convey emotional or expressive feelings and ideas without reliance upon or reference to recognizable objective forms already existent in reality.

has discussed this connection between music and painting, as well as how the practice of classical composition had influenced his work, at length in his seminal essay ''Concerning the Spiritual in Art''. (1912)

Selected artists

Artists who have worked extensively in geometric abstraction include: * Nadir Afonso *

Josef Albers Josef Albers ( , , ; March 19, 1888March 25, 1976) was a German-born American artist and Visual arts education, educator who is considered one of the most influential 20th-century art teachers in the United States. Born in 1888 in Bottrop, Westp ...

* Richard Anuszkiewicz * Mino Argento *

Hans Arp Hans Peter Wilhelm Arp (; ; 16 September 1886 – 7 June 1966), better known as Jean Arp in English, was a German-French sculptor, painter and poet. He was known as a Dadaist and an abstract artist. Early life Arp was born Hans Peter Wilhelm Ar ...

* Rudolf Bauer * Willi Baumeister * Karl Benjamin * Max Bill * Ilya Bolotowsky * Patrick Henry Bruce * Kenneth Wayne Bushnell * Norman Carlberg * Ilya Chashnik * Joseph Csaky * Nassos Daphnis * Ronald Davis *

Robert Delaunay Robert Delaunay (; 12 April 1885 – 25 October 1941) was a French artist of the School of Paris movement; who, with his wife Sonia Delaunay and others, co-founded the Orphism (art), Orphism art movement, noted for its use of strong colours and g ...

* Sonia Delaunay * Tony DeLap * Jean Dewasne *

Burgoyne Diller Burgoyne A. Diller (January 13, 1906 – January 30, 1965) was an American abstract painter. Many of his best-known works are characterized by orthogonal geometric forms that reflect his strong interest in the De Stijl movement and the work of ...

* David Diao * Ding Yi * Thomas Downing * Lorser Feitelson * María Freire * Günter Fruhtrunk *

Albert Gleizes Albert Gleizes (; 8 December 1881 – 23 June 1953) was a French artist, theoretician, philosopher, a self-proclaimed founder of Cubism and an influence on the School of Paris. Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger wrote the first major treatise on ...

* Frederick Hammersley * Erwin Hauer * Mary Henry * Gottfried Honegger * Bryce Hudson *

Al 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 ...

* Auguste Herbin * Carmen Herrera * Hans Hofmann * Budd Hopkins *

* Ellsworth Kelly * Hilma af Klint * Ivan Kliun *

František Kupka František Kupka (23 September 1871 – 24 June 1957), also known as ''Frank Kupka'' or ''François Kupka,'' was a Czech painter and graphic artist A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, eit ...

* Ronnie Landfield * Pat Lipsky * El Lissitzky * Michael Loew * Peter Lowe *

Kazimir Malevich Kazimir Severinovich Malevich (

* Robert Mangold *

Agnes Martin Agnes Bernice Martin (March 22, 1912 – December 16, 2004) was an American abstract painter known for her minimalist style and abstract expressionism. Born in Canada, she moved to the United States in 1931, where she pursued higher education ...

* Kenneth Martin * John McLaughlin * Peter Hugo McClure *

László Moholy-Nagy László Moholy-Nagy (; ; born László Weisz; July 20, 1895 – November 24, 1946) was a Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian painter and photographer as well as a professor in the Bauhaus school. He was highly influenced by Constructivism (art), con ...

Vera Molnár Vera Molnár (; 5 January 1924 – 7 December 2023) was a Hungarian media artist who lived and worked in Paris, France. Molnár is widely considered to have been a pioneer of the generative art aspect of computer art. She was one of the first ...

* François Morellet * Aurélie Nemours * Barnett Newman *

Ben Nicholson Benjamin Lauder Nicholson, OM (10 April 1894 – 6 February 1982) was an English painter of abstract compositions (sometimes in low relief), landscapes, and still-life. He was one of the leading promoters of abstract art in England. Backg ...

* Marion Nicoll * Kenneth Noland * Alejandro Otero * Rinaldo Paluzzi * I. Rice Pereira *

Francis Picabia Francis Picabia (: born Francis-Marie Martinez de Picabia; 22January 1879 – 30November 1953) was a French avant-garde painter, writer, filmmaker, magazine publisher, poet, and typography, typographist closely associated with Dada. When consid ...

* Harvey Quaytman * Ad Reinhardt * Jack Reilly * Bridget Riley * Ivo Ringe * Dorothea Rockburne * Alexander Rodchenko * Morgan Russell * Sean Scully * Victor Servranckx * Leon Polk Smith *

Julian Stanczak Julian Stanczak ( ; November 5, 1928 – March 25, 2017) was a Polish Americans, Polish-born American Painting, painter and printmaker who is considered a central figure of the Op art movement in the U.S. during the 1960s and 1970s. Described as ...

* Henryk Stażewski * Jeffrey Steele *

Frank Stella Frank Philip Stella (May 12, 1936 – May 4, 2024) was an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker, noted for his work in the areas of minimalism and post-painterly abstraction. He lived and worked in New York City for much of his career befor ...

* Sophie Taeuber-Arp * Leo Valledor * Theo van Doesburg * Georges Vantongerloo * Victor Vasarely * Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart * Charmion von Wiegand * Zanis Waldheims *

Gordon Walters Gordon Frederick Walters (24 September 1919 – 5 November 1995) was a Wellington-born artist and graphic designer who is significant to New Zealand culture due to his representation of New Zealand in his Modern Abstract artworks. Education G ...

* Neil Williams * Stanton Macdonald-Wright *

Peter Young Peter or Pete Young may refer to: Sports * Peter Dalton Young (1927–2002), English rugby union player * Peter Young (cricketer, born 1961), Australian cricketer * Pete Young (born 1968), American baseball player * Peter Young (rugby league) (fl. ...

* Larry Zox

References

External links