Understanding Abstract Art May 22 2026, 0 Comments
By Kimberly Nicoletti
I used to shy away from abstract art specifically because I didn’t understand what it was supposed to mean. I mistakenly believed that I should be able to figure out whatever profound meaning it carried. It wasn’t enough to simply become mesmerized in shades of blue or to let my eye dance among pleasant patterns. I had to solve the Great Mystery that the artist locked away, deep within the piece.
What a heady waste of energy that was. Plus, I missed out on enjoying the wonder of abstract art (see my last blog).
But, let’s face it: Sometimes it’s interesting to get at a bit “heady” and at least know the basics about what contributes to quality abstract art. It allows us to put on a finger on just why one abstract work draws you in and another sends me over the moon. And, it provides a common language for conversing about abstract art.
Color, composition, technique and emotion all contribute to quality abstract art.
Color
Color is usually the first element that attracts a viewer.
Complimentary colors should enhance each other. Artists choose specific colors to direct the viewer’s eye and generate a sense of movement, depth and emotion. Contrasting colors attract the eye, and softer, complementary colors allow for rest. Vibrant, warm hues like orange also stand out, while muted or cooler tones recede, resulting in depth.
“There is very much a science to color theory,” co-owner Brian Raitman says.
Composition
Composition, or the layout of the painting, is the second main aspect of quality abstract pieces. The manner in which an artist renders shapes and lines or uses brushstrokes and incorporates negative space establishes focal points, emotion and overall harmony. Well-composed paintings provide a smooth path for the eye to move around the canvas. Composition includes parts of the piece the artist emphasizes and parts the artist de-emphasizes.
“In nature, things are not perfectly symmetrical, but it does have a natural harmony; it has a natural balance (just like art),” says Pamela Sukhum. “A lot of times, art is perceived as, ‘Oh it just comes out the way it does.’ No — it has to follow the laws of nature, which are the laws of science. It has to have some sense of balance for the eye to reconcile. The eye likes balance and harmony.”
This Ecstatic Life by Pamela Sukhum
As opposed to color, which can be subjective in terms of what a person favors, composition is more objective. Like color theory, there’s a science to it, such as the rule of thirds and the fact that your eye usually goes to the bottom right first.
“If those elements are not used successfully, it tends to look like a messy painting, and when they are, then we like it, even though we might not understand why we like it,” Brian says.
Technique
Each successful artist tends to have his or her unique technique and style. Whether it’s the materials they use — like Chris Cantwell’s hundreds of species of wood — or distinctive mark-making, like Kristof Kosmowski’s — their pieces are instantly recognizable.
“People wonder: ‘Wow, how was this made?’ ‘Why this texture?’ Like Kristof Kosmowski’s Venetian plaster. It’s this rich texture, and he can sand it and polish it, or he can leave it really textured, and he oscillates between the two beautifully,” Brian says. “Artists can imbue style into their work just from creating it in a different way. Chris Cantwell gets so deep into the details that you just know that’s a Chris Cantwell, with the tiny — a millimeter, at most — pieces of wood.”
Pamela Sukhum employs custom-created paint that took her a decade to perfect. It appears wet and glassy long after it dries.
Anna Elise Johnson’s pieces, such as “Desert Varnish,” “Terrain,” “Color Flow” and “Red Erosion” are also distinctive. She interprets millions of years of land erosion by soaking a canvas in water, pressing it over rocks and pouring dyes over the rocky foundation, which allows color to flow and pool. Afterward, she applies acrylic paint. Her approach results in great depth.
“Anna’s ‘Death Valley’ or some of her erosion pieces give you a different way of interacting with nature — a fresh perspective or excitement,” Brian says. “There are ways to create art that are very much inspired by nature without mimicking it to the T.”
Red Erosion by Anna Elise Johnson
Anna Elise Johnson used oils in her latest series, which feature shapes on top of landscapes.
“I think it complicates the idea to have the contrast,” she says. “What I try to get is a really active interplay … where your eye moves back and forth between the depth of geological time and the surface.”
Emotion
Last but not least abstract art involves emotion. Quality abstract art elicits feelings. Art that Raitman Art Galleries curate often gives viewers a different perspective on nature, like Gilberto Romero’s sculptures, which imbue feelings of peace, flow and harmony.
Together Again bronze sculpture by Gilberto Romero
He often incorporates stone into his bronze formations. He collects stones that help him envision his pieces and spends time in nature, observing and soaking it all in. The way a river carves its path or bends in trees inspire the curves and swirls in his sculptures.
“I see all these shapes out there, and … I put them into contemporary form,” Gilberto Romero says.
Songbird Balance by Gilberto Romero
Pamela Sukhum embraces the process of letting go — particularly of preconceived notions — to produce her abstract paintings and present viewers with a fresh perspective on nature.
“If I’m moving as the trees do as they’re swaying or moving like poppies in a breezy field — if I can feel that and move that way, it comes out (in my art),” she says.
She also translates mystical aspects of life, based on her practice of meditation, into visual forms that are uplifting, harmonious and celebratory.
“They can give us that touchstone into the essences of who and what we are, truly,” Pamela Sukhum says.
Back to Meaning
Viewers often see stories or meaning in abstract art that the artist didn’t necessarily intend, which makes it fun.
“So often, people see things in abstract art, and they ask, ‘Oh, did they mean to do that?’” Brian says. He almost always replies: “No, I guarantee you they didn’t.”
As Pamela Sukhum points out: It’s not about what it means.
“It’s whether you like it and what artistic principles merge to create such an outcome,” she says.
Beautiful Life by Pamela Sukhum
So, don’t worry if you don’t understand it. Sure, you can ask the friendly professionals at Raitman Art Galleries to explain color or composition theory or technique. But the true joy of abstract art resides in allowing it to open your mind and bring you into that sense of wonder, discovery and curiosity.