Nothingness in Western Thought, Eastern Philosophy, and Abstract Expressionism

Abstract

This study examines how the idea of nothingness is interpreted across Western philosophy, Eastern thought, and Abstract Expressionist art. In Western traditions, from Parmenides to Heidegger, nothingness is viewed as absence or crisis—a limit to meaning and existence. In contrast, Buddhist śūnyatā and Daoist wu describe nothingness as a generative emptiness, the source of interdependence and transformation. Abstract Expressionist artists such as Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko translate these concepts into visual form, turning metaphysical inquiry into direct experience. Pollock’s spontaneous motion and Rothko’s meditative stillness embody the dynamic balance between being and non-being. By bridging philosophy and art, this study argues that nothingness is not mere void but a creative field of becoming, where existence, perception, and meaning continuously unfold.