ABSTRACT
Helen Frankenthaler was among the first of her generation to turn from Cubist design and designing to a freer construction. In her first show in 1951, Frankenthaler exhibited pictures in which she loosened Synthetic Cubist composition by drawing and painting impulsively and by introducing a variety of biomorphic shapes. Frankenthaler would soon achieve a more unified design and even greater spontaneity and fluidity by looking for inspiration to Pollock. The spilled area of color became the basis of Frankenthaler’s painting. The early development of Joan Mitchell paralleled that of Frankenthaler. Alfred Leslie, Michael Goldberg, Grace Hartigan, and Milton Resnick, in contrast to Frankenthaler and Mitchell, represented the anti lyrical side of gesture painting. Frankenthaler came to rely less on drawing and more on relating discrete areas of color. For many artists in San Francisco the sense of discovery and investigation of the possibilities of free-form painting was quickened.
