Abstraction allows man to see with his mind what he cannot physically see with his eyes...Abstract art enables the artist to perceive beyond the tangible, to extract the infinite out of the finite. It is the emancipation of the mind... - The abstract painter Arshile Gorky (1904-1948) wrote in the early 20th century.

Many people think of abstraction as easily created, meaningless and randomly produced, or (a bit more generously) as nothing more than decorative design. In fact, good abstract artists work with themes, ideas and specific intentions for their work. In some cases, these are arrived at intuitively or experimentally, in others, there is considerable planning involved. But perhaps most often there is a combination, a delicate balance of right- and left-brain thinking, a dance between pure inspiration and impulse, and logical analysis and forethought.