How did Surrealism influence Abstract Expressionism in the United States?

Surrealism significantly influenced the development of Abstract Expressionism in the United States, particularly through the arrival of European avant-garde artists fleeing Nazi-dominated Europe in the late 1930s and early 1940s. This migration provided American painters in New York City with an intimate view of European vanguard techniques, stimulating the nascent movement.12

The most profound influence was the Surrealist concept of automatism—the practice of creating art without conscious control to reveal the unconscious mind. While Surrealist automatism was primarily intended to evoke unconscious associations in the viewer, Abstract Expressionists, particularly the Action painters, adapted this approach as a method to give free play to their own instinctive creative forces.123

Key points of influence include:
* Psychic Improvisation: Artists like Jackson Pollock utilized a form of psychic improvisation akin to Surrealist automatism to express the force of the creative unconscious.12
* Biomorphic Shapes: Forerunners such as Arshile Gorky adopted and evolved the biomorphic style, characterized by suggestive, fluid shapes.14
* Reconciliation of Styles: Abstract Expressionists sought to reconcile the psychologically charged content of Surrealism with the structural innovations of European post-Cubist abstraction.5