Epäabstrakteja

Epäabstrakteja is a Finnish term used in art theory and criticism to describe works that are not abstract. The form epäabstrakti (not abstract) combines the prefix epä- with abstrakti, and epäabstrakteja is the plural form used when referring to multiple non-abstract works or categories.

Characteristics of epäabstrakteja include depictive subject matter such as people, landscapes, or still lifes, presented in a recognizable or naturalistic way. While they may employ expressive brushwork, color, or perspective, they retain referential content and do not reduce imagery to purely formal elements. By contrast, abstrakti works foreground form, color, and composition without direct reference to identifiable objects.

Historical usage of the term reflects its role in distinguishing realism and figurative approaches from abstraction in Finnish art discourse, particularly during the 20th century debates about the value and direction of modern art. In contemporary criticism, the boundary between epäabstrakteja and abstrakteja is often fluid, and many artworks blend representational content with abstract treatment, producing hybrid or transitional forms.

In practice, epäabstrakteja are commonly associated with realist or figurative painting, naturalistic sculpture, and photography that preserves recognizability. The term is used to describe works within traditional or realist strands of modern art, as well as to analyze how artists negotiate representation within broader modernist frameworks.

See also: Abstraction, Representational art, Realism, Finnish art.