The most recent 20th and 21st Century Art sale at Chiswick Auctions featured a varied and vibrant group of abstract works, each expressing a different interpretation of what abstraction can be. From post-war Parisian painting to lyrical South Asian modernism and the ancient storytelling traditions of Australian Aboriginal art, these works offer insight into the many narratives abstract art can hold.
Across cultures and generations, abstract artists have used colour, form, and rhythm to communicate emotion, memory and spiritual vision. Here we reflect on four standout lots from the sale, exploring the artistic backgrounds and intentions that shaped them.
Lanskoy’s abstract compositions are full of vivid colour and emotional energy. Having fled revolutionary Russia for Paris, he brought with him memories of cabarets, festivals and folklore. His early artistic training in Kyiv under avant-garde pioneer Aleksandra Exter exposed him to the dynamic possibilities of abstraction.
In Paris, Lanskoy developed his signature style of ‘lyrical abstraction’, breaking down figurative forms into rhythmic shapes and using colour as his primary means of expression. His paintings remain deeply personal, nostalgic and poetic, communicating inner experience through kaleidoscopic form.
Known for his rich impasto and angular forms, Venard was a major voice in post-war French painting. Based in Paris and once affiliated with the ‘Forces Nouvelles’ group, he developed a unique language of still life, capturing everyday objects with vibrant texture and stylised intensity.
This painting demonstrates his joyful approach to abstraction. He believed a painting should not rely on surface charm but instead hold power and complexity, here his palette knife work and bold colours elevate a simple coffee grinder and fruit to something timeless and expressive.
CLAUDE VENARD (FRENCH, 1913-1999)
Nature Morte Au Moulin À Café Et Aux Fruits Sold for £8,820 (Includes Buyer's Premium)
George Claessen’s abstract forms are delicate, lyrical and spiritual. He began painting while working as a watchman at the edge of a jungle, a setting that deeply influenced his artistic vision. His later works, including Hallmark (Of the Living), reflect an almost meditative approach to art-making, using line and space to evoke quiet beauty.
For Claessen, abstraction was not about distorting reality but accessing another dimension of experience. The lightness of his compositions and their organic motion connect strongly with Sri Lankan modernism and its search for an expressive visual language rooted in both East and West.
GEORGE CLAESSEN (SRI LANKAN, 1909-1999)
Hallmark (Of the Living) Sold for £3,276 (Includes Buyer's Premium)
Dorothy Napangardi was a leading contemporary Aboriginal artist whose works continue the storytelling traditions passed down through generations. Her painting Salt at Mina Mina is a mesmerising piece that explores country, memory and ancestral knowledge through a pattern-based abstraction.
Using repeating forms and tonal variation, Napangardi’s work speaks to the spiritual significance of the land in Warlpiri culture. The painting invites the viewer to slow down and interpret, bringing together the visual intensity of abstract art with ancient oral histories.
DOROTHY NAPANGARDI ROBINSON (AUSTRAILIAN, 1956-2013)
Salt at Mina Mina Sold for £5,292 (Includes Buyer's Premium)
These four works demonstrate that abstraction is not a single style, but rather a wide-ranging approach to creativity and expression. Whether rooted in European avant-garde innovation or the enduring traditions of Indigenous art, abstract works can offer new ways of seeing the world, and ourselves.
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