The project examines the role that notions of abstraction as an international language played in Swedish art life from 1945 to 1970. The focus is on abstract expressions, especially in painting, and how these came to conquer and dominate the international art world. Abstraction was perceived as a universal language with different national dialects, which differs from today's dominant approach where the globalization of art is rather understood as a hybridization of different traditions. Abstract art could be understood by everyone and was thought to distill the essence of all art: the inner dynamics of the image. While conceptual art and postmodernism have strongly dominated the understanding of art in recent decades, this generation of abstract artists has been overshadowed by the pioneers of modernism and 1960s pop art. Around 1960, abstract art was completely dominant and abstract was synonymous with modern. What values and ideas were attached to abstract expression? What did the Swedish reception of international abstraction look like? These questions are examined based on analyses of the exhibition history of Moderna Museet and the Gothenburg Museum of Art, as well as the art magazines Konstrevy and Paletten. The perspective is discourse analytical and includes analyses of exhibitions and art reviews. The aim of the project is to investigate notions of abstraction and how these functioned as normative interpretative perspectives during the period 1945-1970.