Post-War 40’s was the heyday of the first wave of Abstract Expressionists – Pollock, de Kooning, and those that followed in their wake. David Park, a San Francisco Art Institute teacher and artist, found that principle and abstraction drew attention to the painter rather than the painting. Park used abstraction to represent natural elements and, particularly with strong figuratives in the 1950’s. Elmer Bischoff, Richard Diebenkorn, Wayne Thiebauld and James Weeks were some of the early builders of the movement, and went on to explore their own inspired and evocative paths. Nathan Oliveira – inspired by his own muse – preferred to be considered on the fringe of the movement but his excellence with roots in elemental figurative still evokes inspiration from Bay Area Figuration. Since then, Joan Brown, Christopher Brown, and many others branched from their roots in figuration. While New York art critics viewed their work as more of a development in the larger movement of abstract expressionism, these California artists have influenced many other artists, including Dennis Hare, and Ray Jackson. S Several artists in this exhibition including Jeff Albrecht and Colin Hurley have roots in the abstract figurative movement. This exhibit focuses mainly on abstraction in human figuration, but exceptional works in unique or strong figuration and in visual realism will be also be featured.