Color field painting was an abstract art movement that emerged in the United States during the 1940s and 1950s as part of the New York School of Art. This type of painting, which consisted of broad fields of color, challenged viewers’ perceptions and notions about art. Abstract art, particularly art that did not depict anything in the natural world, was thought to be the best way to express deep truths and emotions members of the New York School of art.
The color field artists were part of a group of forward-thinking artists. They, along with other members of the New York School, came to New York from all over the world, including Europe and the United States, and were instrumental in shifting the art world’s center from Paris to New York in the 1950s. These artists created a new aesthetic philosophy based on design and composition.
Color field painters concentrated their creative energies on color and shape without making any reference to real-world objects. They juxtaposed different colors to examine their effect on human perception and to express deep universal truths, according to New York School philosophy. They were known for applying large, solid fields of color to their canvases. Color field paintings would sometimes appear to vibrate.
Mark Rothko was one of the first artists to be labeled as a color field painter. Rothko began painting large, fuzzy rectangles in striking colors after becoming dissatisfied with representational art. Color, he believed, had the ability to convey every human emotion. Barnett Newman, for example, painted entire canvases in one color and added vertical lines he called “zips.” Based on their color and location, these zips appear to move between the foreground and background of the canvas.
Robert Motherwell’s approach to color field painting was more gestural. The foreground of his paintings was dominated massive, dark shapes. Ad Reinhardt, on the other hand, avoided using shapes entirely in his paintings, preferring to paint the entire canvas in a single flat color.
Like other types of New York School painting, color field painting was meant to reflect deep universal truths about the nature of existence. Color field art was given mythical and supernatural connotations some art critics. The massive size of some color field paintings, some as wide as 18 feet (about 5.5 meters), added to the overwhelming presence and atmosphere that these works created.