Arte Informale

Arte Informale is a term coined in 1950 by the French critic Michel Tapié to refer to the art movement that began during the mid-1940s in post-World War II Europe. This movement also paralleled the Abstract Expressionism movement that was taking place at the same time in the United States, and had ties to the Arte Povera movement.^[1] Sometimes referred to as Tachism, Art Autre or Lyrical Abstraction, it was a type of abstraction in which form became less important than that of the expressive impulses of the artist, and was opposed to the rationalism of traditional abstraction.^[1] The qualities of informal art explore the possibilities of gesture, materials (often non traditional), and signage as the basis of communication. Oftentimes art characterized as informal is executed spontaneously and the approach to painting and sculpture are generally gestural, performative, expressionistic and experimental. Certain artists such as Lucio Fontana, Alberto Burri and Emilio Vedova were crucial figures of this movement.

Arte Informale is based on the convention of painting while expanding the concept to include time-based themes and viewer dependent trials.^[2] Alberto Burri, Emilio Vedova, and Lucio Fontana are the three main Italian artists to question the limits of painting and sculpture by reassigning the expressive qualities.^[3] They tried to create new channels of communication to forge new styles that would reach beyond their predecessors.^[3] However, they were unable to break away from the history of Italian art.^[3]

Arte Informale became an internationally accepted movement that reached the New York School, the Japanese Gutai Group, and the South American Abstractionists.^[4] However, the primary adherents were French and Italian avant-garde artists.^[4] It was a movement wherein artists created a dialogue between material, subject, and the world.^[4] It was a rejection of the constrained thoughts of previous modern painters.^[4]