Abstract art is very popular. And there is a good reason for this popularity. Abstract pictures go very well in most situations. There are no connections or concrete images – the art is expressive and suggestive and adds drama to any situation in which it is placed. Abstract art is generally understood to be the form of art that does not depict objects in the natural world, but instead uses shapes and colors in a nonrepresentational or subjective way.

According to art experts, in its purest form in Western art, an abstract art is one without a recognizable subject, one which does not relate to something external. This type of ornamental art, without figurative representation occurs today in many cultures. As the modern abstract movement in sculpture and paining emerged in Europe and North America between 1910 and 1920, two approaches have been generally accepted to produce different abstract styles: images that have been “abstracted” from nature to the point where they no longer reflect a conventional reality, and nonobjective, or “pure” art forms, which do not share any reference to reality. A further distinction tends to be made between abstract art which is geometric, such as the work of Piet Mondrian, and abstract art that is more fluid, such as in the works of Wassily Kandinsky. It was Kandinsky who once said that “of all arts, abstract painting is the most difficult. It demands that you know to draw well, that you have a heightened sensitivity for composition and of colors, and that you are a true poet; this last is essential.”

Abstract art began in the avant-garde movements of the late 19th century -Impressionism, neo-Impressionism, and post-Impressionism. These painting styles reduced the importance of the original subject matter and began to emphasize the creative process of painting itself. As artists in Europe at the early twentieth century “broke free” from the conventional representational rules art forms had to follow, figurative abstractions, or simplifications of reality, where detail is eliminated from recognizable objects leaving only the essence or some degree of recognizable form, became popular increasing the variations of art forms and view points. With different abstract styles, like Synchronism and Orphism, abstract art emphasized on color over form, on feelings over logic. The action painting of an American Abstract Expressionist, Jackson Pollock, who dripped, dropped, smeared, spattered, or thrown paint on the canvas, is a good example of such a tremendous change in art focus and technique.

After the introduction of technology and the mass utilization of software programs that assisted people “play around” with their own photographs, paintings or other art forms, abstract art has gained more popularity than ever before. But although being able to draw well is not an issue anymore, as Kandinsky pointed out, being a “true” poet is what still separates the amateur attempts to create abstract art from the artifacts of a true talent.

There are two major different types of art galleries, but once you get past those two distinctions, there are as many different types of art galleries as there are types of art.

Art gallery is the name given to a place where some type of visual art is displayed. The two different types of art galleries are the art museum and the contemporary commercial art gallery. An art museum is usually publicly owned and is not in the business of making a profit, but rather displaying and preserving art. It also exists to educate people about art. Some examples of famous art galleries in the United States are the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C, and the St. Louis Art Museum.

Contemporary art galleries or commercial art galleries have the purpose of selling art rather than simply displaying it. There are as many different types of these art galleries are there are types of art. Many of these galleries are just in the business of selling works of art and will offer pretty much whatever is available. Other art galleries tend to specialize in one type of art or another.

The different types of commercial art galleries include rental galleries and co-op galleries. The rental galleries rent space to artists for the purpose of selling their art. They are not as common as the galleries that retain more control over their offerings to the public. The co-op gallery is usually run by a group of artists that share the expenses of operating the gallery in exchange for the opportunity to exhibit their work in it.

Another way of looking at the different types of art galleries is the subject matter and form of art work exhibited. Certain galleries might offer only local art, or modern art. Some may be themed art such as historical art or wild life art. They may offer only religious art. Some galleries specialize in regional or national art. For example, Asian art might be the theme for a gallery or European art. Some galleries offer only photographs or sculpture.

Regards of the type of gallery, the purposes of the commercial art gallery are to get art in front of the public. This is not done so much for educational or purely art appreciation reasons, but to make sales and profit. This statement is not intended to make them sound overly crass. Art galleries have encouraged the progress of art by providing opportunity to artists to exhibit their work and make a living. It might be said that the art museum is the place for the art of the past and the art gallery is the place for the art of the future.