Discrepant Abstraction

Book excerpt: Exploring cross-cultural scenarios in 20th-century art, this book introduces fresh perspectives on abstraction as a visual signifier of modernity by revealing the multiple directions that abstract art has taken in different international contexts. This groundbreaking collection shows how the heterogeneous qualities of abstraction have been cross-fertilised, from abstract expressionism onwards, by the creative discrepancies that arise when different cultural identities come face to face in the artistic imagination. Discrepant Abstraction is the second volume in the Annotating Art's Histories series. Contributors: Stanley Abe; David Clarke; Mark Cheetham; David Craven; Wilson Harris; Iftikhar Dadi; Kellie Jones; Nathaniel Mackey; Kobena Mercer and Angeline Morrison. Supported by the Getty Foundation.