With the end of the Second World War, the art world moved into uncharted waters. Piet Mondrian and Wassily Kandinsky had paved the way for a new tradition of abstraction, and various currents were emerging across the globe. At the Israel Museum, famous for its Dead Sea scrolls and historic artifacts, abstract works pulled from its impressive collection of 20th-century art are presented in three categories: Contemplative Expanses, Energetic Surfaces, and Geometric Balance. The works date from 1949 through 2016, and include paintings by Helen Frankenthaler, Jackson Pollock, and Pierre Soulages. —Elena Clavarino