Abstract art --especially the kind that has no identifiable imagery-- may appear to have little meaning to the viewer beyond its purely visual appeal. Certainly, we can admire and respond to abstraction without needing a story or an explanation, as long as our eyes are intrigued or delighted, and that is an important way it can be appreciated. But in fact, ideas, emotions, and other points of reference lie behind even the most purely abstract work. Today we will consider the ideas that compel abstract artists and guide them in their work.

While a painting can never be fully explained, and can definitely be over-analyzed, understanding the general realm of ideas that lie behind an abstract work adds to your experience as a viewer. In reading artist statements and biographies, we can see that their sources of ideas in abstraction can be surprisingly specific and autobiographical. The process of interpreting ideas, images, emotions, information, and memories in visual language is challenging and requires a balance of intuition and intellect.

Abstract painting requires abstract thinking for both the artist and the viewer. Avoiding literal or illustrational approaches when working from specific ideas means being open-ended, flexible, and treating specific references more as jumping off points than as something you insist the viewer take from your work. There is a huge component of interpretation in all types of abstraction, and an abstract artist needs to allow guidance from ideas but without a need to dictate how others respond to the work.

Finding and expressing meaning in your work, however you create it, is key to having passion and involvement in the studio. For abstract artists there are special challenges in interpreting their ideas, and for viewers it means entering a world without labels and strict definition. A very different kind of conversation happens outside the realm of easily identifiable imagery. Intuition and imagination are important to both seeing and appreciating abstraction.

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