Definition:
(noun) - Post Painterly Abstraction is a term invented by the American art critic Clement Greenberg (1909-1984) for an exhibition of the same name, which called attention to a less energetic and more colorful direction in art. The show took place at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1964 and included 31 artists whose styles differed significantly from Abstract Expressionism. Today, we can divide their work into two general categories: Color Field Painting and Hard-Edge Painting.Greenberg explained: "In their reaction against the 'handwriting' and 'gestures' of Painterly Abstraction [Abstract Expressionism], these artists also favor a relatively anonymous execution."
Pepe Karmel would call this more impersonal approach "New York Cool," in his 2008 exhibition of the same name at the Grey Art Gallery, New York University.
Among the artists Greenberg selected were Jules Olitski, Kenneth Noland, Frank Stella, Sam Francis, Helen Frankenthaler, Al Held, Morris Lewis, Friedel Dzubas, and Alexander Lieberman.
Sources:
Greenberg, Clement. Post Painterly Abstraction.Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1964.
Arnason, H.H. and Elizabeth C. Mansfield. History of Modern Art, Sixth Edition.
Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2009.
Pronunciation:
post payn·ter·lee ab·strakt·shun