Abstract painting of the XX century: dialectics of the unique and universal

The article focuses on abstract (non-objective) painting of the twentieth century and considers it from the point of view of the dialectic of the unique and universal. The article traces how the search for new artistic methods leads to the formation of two trends in abstract painting - emotional and rational. The study analyses the main formation stages of each trend taking into account the peculiarities of the manifestation of the unique and universal. The unique in abstract painting manifests itself at three levels: at the level of personality (of an artist or a viewer) being the bearer of uniqueness; at the level of the work’s form and content; at the level of the method of work on the painting. Individual, peculiar and complex ideas of the twentieth century’s artists find material embodiment in abstract painting. Nonobjectivity, which denies a life-like image, provides the viewer with unlimited freedom of perception and creates a situation of unique co-creation opening up a wide scope for personal interpretations and new meanings. The uniqueness of an abstract painting form is largely determined by the use of non-fine means (similar to musical, architectural or ornamental) to express the spiritual or ideological content of the pictorial image. The non-fine, ornamental and rhythmic principle of shaping gives rise to unique non-traditional methods of work on a painting, similar to dripping. The universal in abstract painting is associated with the embodiment of universal characteristics of a person (thirst for creativity, desire for novelty, spontaneity of the spirit) and the world (its orderliness and structural properties). Abstract painting does not recreate life and it does not refer to a certain reality. As a result, it becomes a universal language understandable to the viewer of any age, level of education, and any cultural affiliation.