Paul Wood, Matthew Gale, Jason Gaiger, Jaime Gili, David Batchelor, Briony Fer and Amna Malik, Part 1 - Introduction  This study day is dedicated to the memory of Professor Charles Harrison, Emeritus Professor of the History and Theory of Art at The Open University. On the occasion of two major exhibitions of abstract art, Van Doesburg and the International Avant-Garde: Constructing a New World and Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective, this study day considers some of the broad issues and ideas associated with the concept of 'abstraction'.