Abstract Art: A Global History

5 Tuesdays, 7:00 to 9:00 PM Eastern
Class begins April 20th

In this course we’ll take a look at the new book by Pepe Karmel, titled Abstract Art: A Global History. In this new way of thinking about art history, Karmel reorganizes the abstract art canon around five distinct categories. This method allows us to look at how ideas are shared across geographies and time periods, highlighting areas of collaboration and cross pollination.

This course will run for five weeks, and each week will focus on one of the five categories that Karmel has created (see below). At the beginning of every class we’ll look closely at several of the artists in each category, after which we will break out and paint together.

Students will be asked to consider how their existing work fits into those categories, and how they can imagine making new work that fits into those same categories. This class fits the traditional structure of my classes with a slideshow and discussion at the beginning with time to paint afterwards.

Week 1: Introduction and Bodies
Week 2: Landscapes
Week 3: Cosmologies
Week 4: Architectures
Week 5: Signs & Patterns

Purchasing the book is not a requisite for this class.