In my opinion, painting is a vital visual method of communication. Sometimes, it is easier to express an idea through a degree of abstraction. Picasso had a famous lesson demonstrating the concept of abstract painting by drawing a bull. He showed that by removing excessive detail, a bull could be drawn with just a few strokes while people could still recognize what it was. One question we may ask is: why do we need to simplify it? I think it is because, in many situations, we want to highlight our focus by simplifying or omitting unrelated details. This is similar to writing an article; not everything should be described at length. If you talk too much about less important details, readers will find it hard to understand your main point.
In some situations, we may have to distort real scenes or add additional content to reality. This should always serve the requirement of expressing an idea. In Van Gogh's "Starry Night," the full picture is filled with stripe-like patterns. This, to some extent, reflects the painter's inner feelings. Despite this, we still know he was painting a starry night without others telling us.
I think to judge whether an abstract painting is good or not, we should have two criteria. First, it should be easy to understand. Second, the result of the abstraction should allow viewers to better understand the painting.
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