Abstract America

In these shifting times the artist’s alter ego might well be the DJ—brushstrokes are replaced by "riffs" while "old school" palettes are discarded for "Teletubby purple" or "bubble gum pink".

This is the age of "the remix" where raw material is downloaded and "Photoshopped". Contemporary artists have irony at their disposal and switch to tie-dye aesthetics or psychedelia as fast as they can quote Malevich. This next wave is thrilling. Painted loops, reminiscent of Jackson Pollock, are revealed to be motorcycle skid marks—bringing new meaning to Abstract Expressionism. Even though traditions are "deconstructed" and paintings can echo "grunge", historical continuity remains.