Art terms

Neo-Expressionism

Rebel (Rebell)
© the artist's estate. Image credit: Tate

Rebel (Rebell) 1965

Georg Baselitz (1938–2026)

Tate

Directly influenced by German Expressionism, Neo-Expressionism was a postmodern art movement that emerged in the 1970s and 1980s which marked a return to figurative, expressive painting. The impact of the movement, which rejected minimalism and conceptual art, was felt internationally. German artist Georg Baselitz is regarded as the father of Neo-Expressionism following his controversial 1963 solo show in Berlin; he also spearheaded the Neue Wilde group (the New Fauves) alongside Anselm Kiefer, A.

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A movement in painting, and to a lesser degree sculpture, which emerged in the late 1970s and was firmly established on the critical map in the early 1980s with a number of major exhibitions, especially ‘A New Spirit in Painting’ held at the Royal Academy, London...

Text source: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms (2nd Edition) by Michael Clarke

An Introduction to Neo-Expressionism

A brief look at Neo-Expressionism and the search for a more figurative art. It was a movement that dominated the European and American art markets during the early to mid-1980s.

Video source: Art History 101

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