An engaging look at three women artists' pathbreaking explorationof abstraction

A new poetry collection of startling beauty and thought by a great American poet.

We don't have to know what a painting is if we know how it makes us feel. A fun, fascinating survey of abstract art, Journeys to Abstraction offers a behind-the-scenes look at how contemporary artists break free from literal depiction to rejoice in the pure expressive power of color, line and texture. • 58 artists share 100 striking abstract paintings, along with the ideas, inspirations and diverse working processes behind them. • Covers a wide variety of traditional and non-traditional media and techniques, including watercolor, collage, acrylics, ink and more. • Four step-by-step demonstrations show how abstract pieces come together from start to finish. Discover how artists paint, pour, scrape, spray, carve, stamp, collage and otherwise build complex layers of texture and meaning. Painting with egg cartons, turning acrylic paints into shards of "stained glass," incorporating old "failed" paintings into fresh finished pieces...anything goes in abstract art! Marked by an inspiring freedom of form and content, this is a liberating book for any artist in search of new, dynamic forms of self-expression.

"Abstract paintings were being produced even before Kandinsky. Completely independently from each other, Georgiana Houghton (1814-1884) in England, Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) in Sweden and Emma Kunz (1892-1963) in Switzerland developed an individual, abstract pictorial language. What they had in common was a desire to make visible the laws of nature, the intellect and the supernatural. Their works are being presented side by side for the first time in an exhibition. The three women artists all found their artistic language within the context of the spiritual movements of their times: Houghton in spiritism, af Klint in theosophy and Kunz in naturopathy. Their artworks bear witness to a 'mediumistic' praxis: Houghton and af Klint were inspired by higher beings to paint, while Kunz developed her drawings with the help of a pendulum. In addition, the volume shows stills by Harry Smith and James and John Whitney, who - inspired by various occult movements - made experimental films during the 1940s"--Publisher's website.

In this stimulating, thought-provoking guide, a noted sculptor and teacher demonstrates how to discover a rich new design source in the abstractions inherent in natural forms. Through systematic study of such properties as line, form, shape, mass, pattern, light and dark, space, proportion, scale, perspective, and color as they appear in nature, students can learn to utilize the infinite variety and diversity of those elements as a wellspring of creative abstraction. The author invites students to learn the necessary techniques through a series of projects devoted to exploring and drawing plants, animals, birds, landscapes, seascapes, skies, and more. Lines of growth and structure, water and liquid forms, weather and atmospheric patterns, luminosity in plants and animals, earth colors and lightning are among the sources of abstraction available to the artist who is aware of them. This book will train you to see and use these elements and many more. An intriguing blend of art, psychology, and the natural sciences, Abstraction in Art and Nature is profusely illustrated with over 370 photographs, scientific illustrations, diagrams, and reproductions of works by the great masters. It not only offers a mind-stretching new way of learning and teaching basic design, but deepens our awareness of the natural environment. In short, Mr. Hale's book is an indispensable guide that artists, teachers, and students will want to have close at hand for instruction, inspiration, and practical guidance.

Published by Louvre Abu Dhabi in collaboration with France Museums and Centre Pompidou, this exhibition catalogue examines how certain 20th century artists strove to establish a new visual language by merging text and image. Largely in response to a rapidly changing society, these artists looked towards eastern traditions and broke away from figurative conventions. Following the development of abstraction and how artists were inspired by early forms of writing, particularly calligraphy, the book is a rare opportunity to explore the work of modern masters such as Henri Matisse, Paul Klee, Joan Miró, Lee Ufan, Dia Azzawi, Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollock, alongside contemporary pieces and monumental calligraffiti by Mona Hatoum, eL Seed and Ghada Amer.