There are those who will tell you that abstract art and contemporary art are the same thing. Though the terms are often used interchangeably, their meanings do differ. As our recent shows have shown, contemporary art is a classification of art. The classification of abstract art is not particular to any one period and that is the essential difference. Rather than describing a specific art movement, the phrase ‘abstract art’ is a very broad umbrella term encompassing a huge range of styles and approaches. Because abstraction first appeared in the early 20th century, the term is usually applied to modern and contemporary art made during and after this time, including the art of today. Modern art refers to the beginning of Impressionist period that happened around 1870 and were not always abstract. Thus the use of modern art to describe abstract art is a fallacy. Ultimately, the evolution of abstract art — like the evolution of modern art more broadly — has been a series of responses to the experience of life in the 20th and 21st centuries