Riding a revolution in American painting, this decade is defined by Tworkov’s full embrace of the abstract mark. An extremely prolific period, Tworkov becomes a prominent figure in the Abstract Expressionist movement that centers around Friday evening conversations at The Club in a loft on 8th Street. Unlike other artists of his generation, Tworkov develops personal and lasting relationships with a rising generation of artists including John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jasper Johns. However, by the end of the fifties, Tworkov feels that the automatic aspect of abstract-expressionist painting had reached a stage where its forms had become predictable and automatically repetitive and begins to analyze his gestural mark.

Exhibition highlights include: Solo exhibitions at Charles Egan Gallery (’52, ‘54). Stable Gallery (’53, ’57, ’58, ‘59) Walker Art Center (’57). Major group exhibitions include: The 9th Street: Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture (‘51), American Vanguard for Paris, Janis Gallery (’51), The New American Painting as Shown in Eight European Countries (’58-59), Documenta II (’59).