Visually different from figurative art, abstract art came in the early 20th century and used colours, lines, forms and shapes to create unseen compositions, with little or faint relation with the outside world.
It expanded upon the artist’s freedom of expression, imagination, inner turmoil, spirituality and spontaneity.

Abstract Art: Many Shades And Hues

There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterwards, you can remove all traces of reality.

Many historians and artists throughout the century have had contradictory opinions and beliefs about abstract art. 
Some people find abstract art the true original expressions, and figurative art being a mere imitation of reality. Others call it a hidden reality, where traces of figurative art are removed and ‘abstracted’ to stoke the imagination.

Abstract Art: Contradictory Beliefs

Abstract art is a no-art art that does not have any rules.
The abstraction is a freeing concept that allows the artist to tap into their intuition, innovativeness and even inner darkness to spill out what is felt inside, creating multi-dimensional magic on canvas.

Abstract Art: Throwing Out The Rules

Nature in some ways is abstract, and a merging of art with nature puts the power of the elements, the sun, water, earth, moon, air and light into the ethereal paintings of imaginary new worlds and metaphorical concepts.

Nature And Abstract Art

The spontaneousness of abstract art makes the entire process a journey of self-discovery, where the artist does not know where the brush and canvas will take him.
The structure and openness of abstract art are conducive to unexpected twists, turns and tangents, transmogrifying the content into a moving, speaking piece of work.

Abstract Art: No Boundaries

Figurative art and conventional photography have a limitation of simply imitating or reproducing on canvas what is already existing in reality, and thus is constrained to an extent.
Abstract art is powerful as it transcends the limits of thought and provides unlimited possibilities to explore the many dimensions of human emotions, with each artist using a unique, visual language of lines and colour.

Abstract Art: Beyond The Limits Of Thought

Abstract art is like an ignition key, cranking up our own inner world of imagination and unlimited possibilities. The image in abstract art is bait. The real magic is in the feeling the overall work of art produces out of the onlooker.
The formless forms of abstract art create inner sounds that evoke sensations and make the person enter the realm of the transcendental.

Abstract Art: Dreams On Canvas

Many Different Views of Abstract Art are defined by artists from the past and present, including abstract artist members of Manhattan Arts International.