Tomma Abts’s small-scale, hard-edged abstractions refer to the artist’s rigid, rule-based working practises by allowing overlapping layers of paint to gather inside her intended geometries. Lines and patterns appear to float over one another in Abts’ paintings, creating illusionistic landscapes full of flattened shapes, shadows, and depth insinuations.
Her style is abstract, yet it also contrasts with Germany’s Neo-Expressionist representational painting. Her paintings are not representational. There are no allusions to nature, the earth, or any other subject. Her paintings’ abstraction is complemented by a lack of detail and an overall vintage atmosphere. The paintings have intricate forms that are stacked and weaved in various ways, with highlights, shadows, and a feeling of depth added.