New Tenets in Geometric Abstraction

Geometric Abstraction began with the placement of a black square within a white square canvas by Kashmir Malevich in 1915. In the century since, non-objective painting using pure geometries and hard edges has manifested itself as one of the most enduring styles of painting. Images free of subject matter allow for exploration of the unconscious and for universal meaning. Visual compositions achieved through various painting techniques which employ color, form, proportion, tension or rhythm characterize the numerous paths pursued in geometric abstract art.

Neo-Plasticism by Mondrian applied a grid structure to his paintings, first flattening the picture plane and then, adjusting the relative proportion of line and color, the surface is activated and controlled in novel ways. The use of light and dark color or warm and cool color naturally reveal a push or pull in perceived visual space, as taught by Hans Hoffmann. Joseph Albers revealed the inherent nature of colors and tones further broadening the possibilities in painting. Where renaissance painters employed a hidden structure based on geometry, artists of the twentieth century have reduced painting to its base elements to expose the core structure and order of the universe.

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Samantha Bittman, Untitled, 2014, Hand-woven textile
Samantha Bittman, Untitled, 2014, Hand-woven textile
Russel Tyler, TXL, 2014, Oil on canvas, 67
Russel Tyler, TXL, 2014, Oil on canvas, 67" x 44"
Samantha Bittman, Sample Blanket #1, 2014, Acrylic on hand-woven textile
Samantha Bittman, Sample Blanket #1, 2014, Acrylic on hand-woven textile
Russell Tyler, 4TRS, 2013, Oil on canvas, 36
Russell Tyler, 4TRS, 2013, Oil on canvas, 36" x 36"
Samantha Bittman, Untitled (red), 2014, Acrylic on hand-woven textile
Samantha Bittman, Untitled (red), 2014, Acrylic on hand-woven textile
Russel Tyler, YBGC, 2014, Oil on canvas, 20
Russel Tyler, YBGC, 2014, Oil on canvas, 20" D
Russel Tyler, BGW, 2014, Oil on canvas, 30
Russel Tyler, BGW, 2014, Oil on canvas, 30" x 24"
Peter Demos, Untitled, 2013, Matte and gloss acrylics on dyed canvas, 72
Peter Demos, Untitled, 2013, Matte and gloss acrylics on dyed canvas, 72" x 48"
Samantha Bittman, Untitled (zig zag), 2014
Samantha Bittman, Untitled (zig zag), 2014