Existential Art (1940s and 1950s) John Paul Sartre's existentialist philosophy, with its
themes of alienation and angst in the face of the human condition, can be seen in paintings by the American Abstract Expressionists, the Informel and «CoBrA» movements, the French Homme - Temoin (Man as a Witness) group, the British
Kitchen Sink art group, and the American
Beats - all of whom from time to time are designated Existential, as are many individual painters and sculptors: like the Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti, and the surrealist / expressionist Francis Bacon.