How to Use abstract expressionism in a Sentence

abstract expressionism

noun
  • This puts her squarely in the tradition of abstract expressionism.
    — Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 27 Apr. 2023
  • He is known for a style called abstract expressionism, which is characterized by sweeping brush strokes that evoke emotion.
    — Anne Ryman, The Arizona Republic, 30 Sep. 2022
  • The bespoke mark is hand painted with ink on paper, and is a nod to the abstract expressionism movement, where each artist would sign their painting.
    — Mark Heim | [email protected], al, 5 Apr. 2023
  • The subway map in Tokyo, with its looping ribbons of color, looks more like a work of abstract expressionism than a guide at first.
    — Mary Louise Schumacher, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 27 Apr. 2018
  • These rugs can range from low to high based only on pattern and color combination, very much like any work of abstract expressionism.
    — Carmen Rosy Hall, Vogue, 22 June 2018
  • Both are subtle, patriotic nods to the hidden shapes that are inspired by abstract expressionism art.
    — Mark Heim | [email protected], al, 5 Apr. 2023
  • Over several hours, tennis becomes a form of abstract expressionism.
    — Rory Smith, New York Times, 9 June 2023
  • This was 15 years before abstract expressionism broke out and New York became the center of the art world.
    — Washington Post, 8 June 2022
  • The two earliest works here, which include the show’s namesake, are gestural in the manner of abstract expressionism.
    — Washington Post, 20 Nov. 2020
  • All the participants draw from cubism and abstract expressionism, but jumble such precedents in lively ways.
    — Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 26 Aug. 2022
  • The designs were utterly unique but worked in concert with each other, a psychedelic take on abstract expressionism.
    — Jordan Runtagh, Peoplemag, 31 Oct. 2022
  • As a result of these elisions, the film feels less like a documentary than like a work of abstract expressionism, yet much beauty can be found in Russell's approach.
    — Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader, 5 June 2018
  • Centered in New York, a powerful artistic reaction was what soon was dubbed abstract expressionism.
    — Scott Cantrell, Dallas News, 16 June 2023
  • When a whole new art world erupted in New York in the 1950s and abstract expressionism took the global stage, Neel was passed over.
    — Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 6 Apr. 2021
  • Even in the late 1960s, academics, critics, dealers, artists, and collectors looked at abstract expressionism with awe for three reasons.
    — Brian T. Allen, National Review, 22 Aug. 2020
  • The show makes the definitive case for Shields’ argument that Diebenkorn did not spring whole from abstract expressionism, as is commonly thought.
    — Julia Couzens, sacbee, 26 Oct. 2017
  • The free-flowing compositions of abstract expressionism now represent a planet that’s burning and melting.
    — Washington Post, 28 Sep. 2021
  • Burr juxtaposes the macho persona of abstract expressionism with a dash of dark femininity.
    — Susan Dunne, courant.com, 18 June 2019
  • As this story suggests, there can be a striking similarity between works of abstract expressionism and paintings by children—or even by chimps, monkeys and elephants.
    — Ellen Winner, WSJ, 19 Oct. 2018
  • Her experimentation seemed of a piece with abstract expressionism, the artistic movement that took root in the mid-20th century.
    — Emily Langer, Washington Post, 4 Mar. 2021
  • In fact, Stella’s paintings are often described as a reaction/evolution to the emotive splatters of abstract expressionism.
    — Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2023
  • Gene Davis’s trademark stripes don’t appear in his two entries, painted in the 1950s under the stormy influence of abstract expressionism.
    — Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 1 Dec. 2023
  • Ensconced as American ‘high art’ by 1962, abstract expressionism imagined the canvas as a space for producing unique events.
    — Matthew Carey Salyer, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2021
  • Objects for sale included sandwiches, pieces of pie, sausages, and clothing made of wire and plaster and painted in an exuberant dripping style recalling abstract expressionism.
    — Martha Schwendener, BostonGlobe.com, 18 July 2022
  • Pop art represented a midcentury shift from fine art and abstract expressionism to pieces that embraced elements of advertising, mass media and consumerism.
    — Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Oct. 2025
  • Neel defied the abstract expressionism of her contemporaries with a distinctive style of portraiture that exposed the psychological truth of her subjects.
    — Arts Editor, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
  • Yet Keravuori is indebted to abstract expressionism, which extolled the spontaneous and the immediate.
    — Washington Post, 20 Nov. 2020
  • But the exhibition was later credited with bringing abstract expressionism to Australia.
    — Yan Zhuang, BostonGlobe.com, 6 May 2023
  • Their experimental music mirrored developments in the art world at the time, including Fluxus and abstract expressionism.
    — Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader, 12 Jan. 2018
  • This short film blends traditional animation with abstract expressionism using innovative video-to-video techniques.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 8 Jan. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'abstract expressionism.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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