This exhibition celebrates the exuberance of gesture and innovative abstraction that came to define a central tenet of Abstract Expressionism. Often a balancing act between unbridled spontaneity and careful forethought, this body of work highlights the dynamic action painting that defined a new era in abstraction. With the primacy of the painted surface called to order, American postwar art took center stage. With work by Robert Motherwell, Jack Tworkov, Richard Pousette-Dart, Norman Bluhm, Sam Francis, and Mark Tobey, Gesture and Abstraction features paintings that explore unexpected color, vivid brushwork, and complex paint handling. On view until November 12, 2011.