Born in resistance to the dominant culture, Expressionism was one of the major art movements of the 20th century. Characterised by intense colour, distorted forms and brushwork that appears free and generous, Expressionist artists do not trade in realism, trying instead to evoke the inner state or feeling of their subject. Sometimes considered its own movements and sometimes used to describe many – cubism, surrealism and post-impressionism – Expressionism is united by an attitude: individuality. 

In the late 20th and 21st centuries, Expressionism returned to the canon through artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat and Anselm Kiefer, who were both dubbed Neo-Expressionist. Styles that broke from the figurative tradition also emerged, including Abstract Expressionism. In Australia, figurative Expressionism is continued, subverted and re-imagined through modernists including Arthur Boyd and Sidney Nolan, and contemporary artists David Larwill and Adam Cullen. Viva la expression!