color-field
noun
col·or-field
ˈkə-lər-ˌfēld 
often attributive
: abstract painting in which color is emphasized and form and surface are correspondingly de-emphasized
Examples of color-field in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Willem de Looper Many color-field abstractionists have rejected the notion that their pictures look like landscapes, but sometimes the resemblance is hard to deny.
—
Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2024
Only hints of that interest are visible in this selection, which consists principally of 1980s color-field paintings.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 13 Oct. 2023
When fixed inside plastic boxes, rumpled sheets of reflective Mylar bunting come to resemble color-field canvases, with creases standing in for brushstrokes.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 4 Aug. 2023
The first of these versions is bracketed by two color blocks, one blue and the other red; these refer to color-field painting but also to the uniforms of the French and British, respectively.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 18 July 2023
The high-tech construction of LED lights translates hard-edge color-field painting into continually mutating light patterns controlled by the artist’s custom software.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2023
Helen Frankenthaler is best known for her soak-stain paintings—raw canvases saturated with washes of paint that helped birth the color-field movement.
—Carol Kino, WSJ, 3 Mar. 2023
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2024
Only hints of that interest are visible in this selection, which consists principally of 1980s color-field paintings.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 13 Oct. 2023
When fixed inside plastic boxes, rumpled sheets of reflective Mylar bunting come to resemble color-field canvases, with creases standing in for brushstrokes.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 4 Aug. 2023
The first of these versions is bracketed by two color blocks, one blue and the other red; these refer to color-field painting but also to the uniforms of the French and British, respectively.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 18 July 2023
The high-tech construction of LED lights translates hard-edge color-field painting into continually mutating light patterns controlled by the artist’s custom software.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2023
Helen Frankenthaler is best known for her soak-stain paintings—raw canvases saturated with washes of paint that helped birth the color-field movement.
—Carol Kino, WSJ, 3 Mar. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Color-field.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/color-field. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share