Rothko: Into Abstraction

The evolution of Mark Rothko’s style as an artist is a journey further into abstraction and away from traditional representation.

Starting with the figural urban scenes of his early career, Rothko subsequently developed a quasi-Surrealist style of automatic drawing, which featured amoebic and biomorphic elements and an interest in symbols and ancient myth. From there, Rothko began painting his signature large-scale colour field works, which, with their large rectangular bands of floating colours and immersive presentation, attempted to connect with the viewer and evoke in them a deep emotional or spiritual response.