Art informel

Art informal

The term art informal (informal painting) was introduced by Michel Tapié, where the French word 'informel' should be understood as 'formless'. The term refers to the various styles of abstract art that were popular in the 1940s and 1950s, such as tachism, matter painting, tachism, and action painting. Informal painting is a form of abstract art that goes back to expressionistic ways of depicting before the Second World War. This European movement runs parallel to abstract expressionism in the United States. The art form rebelled against the prevailing art styles, such as socialist realism and geometric abstraction. Due to the variety of styles, the work of the art informal artists is extremely varied and includes both figurative and non-figurative painters. The work of the artists corresponds in the application of the free brushwork and the thick layers of paint. In 1958 the Dutch Informal Group was founded in the Netherlands by Armando, Henk Peeters and Jan Hendrikse, among others. In 1960 this group changed into the Dutch Zero movement.