XVA Gallery continues a series of lectures on Art History from Classicism to Contemporary Art – the period from the 19th century to the present day. The lectures are headed by Dr Michaela Watrelot, telling about the highlights of various art movements, the most influential artists and their masterpieces. The visitors are able to deepen their knowledge and appreciation of art and learn how to confidently identify and discuss various artistic styles, epochs and eras.
This Wednesday, May 25th, visitors are invited to the fifth lecture of the cycle, Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art.
Abstract Expressionism is a large-scale movement in 20th-century American painting that began in the late 1940s and became the dominant movement in Western art in the 1950s. The most prominent representatives of abstract expressionism were Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline and Mark Rothko. Most of the Abstract Expressionists lived, worked and exhibited in New York.
This movement is characterized by an artist’s spontaneous display of his own inner world and emotional experiences. Adherents of abstract expressionism in their works completely relied on the unconscious, free from the laws of logic and mind control, creativity, abandoning the image of objects in the real world.
Pop art is an art movement that originated in the 1950s in Great Britain; however, it first became most popular in the United States. This art movement emerged as a reaction to abstract expressionism, which had been popular since the 1940s.
Dr Michaela Watrelot holds a PhD in Art History. She is an art educator, curator, and published author specialising in 19th and 20th-century art, the history of private collecting, and art market research. In addition, she is a recipient of different international grants and scholarship, including the International Fellowship Programme of the Berlin State Museums and the research grant of Charles University. She earned a Master’s degree in Art History from the University of Vienna, gaining a further understanding of the contemporary art market while working at Christie’s in Vienna and Dubai.
The Art History lectures will be held for 1,5 hours, from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm. The regular price is Dhs. 200.00. The programme of the next lectures is:
May 25: Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art
June 1: Minimalism and Conceptual Art
June 9: Contemporary Art
June 15: Women in Art
For more information, please visit www.xvagallery.com
You might also be interested in visiting a solo exhibition Cosmic Horizons by Swiss-Italian artist Letizia de Maigret at XVA Gallery
