Dictionary
Artist groups of Informalism

Informel’s development post-World War Two was not influenced by one individual, but rather by various groups. Using diverse approaches, they reflected theoretically and practically on Informel’s new, abstract and largely gestural forms of expression. Artists and art historians frequently collaborated, as exemplified in the work of Munich’s ZEN 49 group, and artistic exchanges took place between various groups and their members.
Germany was an important location for the development of Informel. Numerous artists’ groups were founded there during in the late 1940s. These included (in addition to ZEN 49) Quadriga (Frankfurt), 53" (Düsseldorf), and SPUR, WIR and GEFLECHT in Munich. In Italy, Informel was represented by the Gruppo degli Otto and Arte Nucleare, and in Spain by the groups Dau al Set and El Paso. The international CoBrA group took its name from the first letters of the founders’ respective home cities – Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam.