John Willenbecher was predominantly influenced by the 1950s growing up. Abstract Expressionism dominated in the 1950s as a chief method of painting, and explored ideas about the sublime and spirituality. Artists chose to focus on painting’s formal properties, and Action Painting took inspiration from the political freedoms of the United States, in opposition to the strictures of the Soviet bloc. During the Post War period, New York City became the global focus for Modernism. Throughout the Second World War, many artists had travelled to the city after having fled in exile from Europe, which culminated in a merging and amalgamation of talent and ideas. Whilst in New York, influential Europeans such as Piet Mondrian, Josef Albers and Hans Hoffmann provided inspiration for American artists, and influenced cultural growth in the United States for many decades that followed. Important artists of this period included Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, Frank Kline, Barnett Newman, Clyfford Still and Adolph Gottlieb. In subsequent revisions, the contributions and efforts of female artists such as Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, and Louise Bourgeois have been celebrated, amongst many other female creatives.
American, b. 1936