SCALE TAKEN TO NEW LEVELS

Scale is a trademark of Abstract Expressionism. A number of the artists had been influenced by the experience of painting murals for the New Deal’s Federal Art Project, with many going on to favor monumental canvases that almost engulf the viewer. Abstract Expressionist art invites artist and viewer to meet. While the artist expresses their emotions and conveys a sense of their presence in the work, the viewer’s perception is the final component in the mix. Abstract painting “confronts you,” Pollock said in 1950. As the Rothko Chapel in Houston exemplifies, the intensity of this encounter can be heightened by the way the work is displayed.