Art cannot escape reflecting the culture in which it exists

Art is always created surrounded by a certain context. This context influences the artist creating the work. The context an artist lives in may include features such as other art movements happening at the time, influential people, social pressure, environmental features and personal circumstances. The culture an artist lives in, is often a fundamental influence on the artwork an artist creates.  The question is, does the art work created reflect this culture or does it stand alone, unshaped by the context of its origin.

For an artist to reflect their culture they could either be reacting to it, in a positive or negative way. This may include art work that makes a social comment, it may also include art work that simply follows the art trend of the time, as art movements  are part of culture. An artist such as Picasso reflected the historical events in the culture he lived, in artworks such as Guernica, his style also reflected the cubist art movement at the time.

Séraphine de Senlis
Les Fruits, vers 1928
Huile sur toile
92 x 73 cm

Is it then possible for an artist to be free of reflecting culture? Would a naïve artist be free from this constraint? The French artist Seraphine was a  naïve painter, however her art  still reflected something of the culture in which she lived. Perhaps if an artist were to be a hermit and live without contact with society their may be a possibility that their art would stand alone against the influence of culture. This is the question I endeavour to answer can art escape reflecting the culture in which it exists.