Styles & Periods

• Artists
• Styles & Periods
• Associations
• Glossary
• Projects
• Purchase Guides

Hard-Edge Painting

Hard-Edge painting arose in the 1960s in opposition to figurative and geometrical art and as a reaction to Abstract Expressionism. It is included in the new direction of painting of the 1960s that is generally called Post-Painterly Abstraction. Hard-Edge painting is characterized by its flat, broad fields of color. The forms in Hard-Edge painting are few, and are crisply defined by sharp contours. By reducing the amount of forms in a painting and eliminating the presence of a defined light source, Hard-Edge painters were able to negate depth, object and figure, thereby giving the painting – that is the stretcher and canvas itself – the distinction of being the object. This can be interpreted as total unity of the picture plane. Some of the most successful Hard-Edge painters include Agnes Martin, Ad Reinhardt, Ellsworth Kelly and Kenneth Noland.

Feeling inspired? Try out these fine products…

Up to 35% Off Goldfaber Aqua Watercolor Pencils Tin Sets by Faber-Castell Vivid, lightfast colors!	Up to 33% Off Graphite Aquarelle Water-soluble Pencils by Faber-Castell smooth water-soluble graphite	From $1.39 Lumograph Pencils (Each) by Staedtler High quality drawing pencils
Up to 58% Off Ultra Mini Technique Brush Sets by Silver Brush Tiny and precise	At Least 39% Off Teachers Choice Tin Set by Cretacolor Ideal for students!	Up to 60% Off Cotman Water Colour Brushes by Winsor & Newton popular watercolor brushes