I think it's much more than this, but from the article you refer to:
"Why did the CIA support [the abstract artists]? Because in the propaganda war with the Soviet Union, this new artistic movement could be held up as proof of the creativity, the intellectual freedom, and the cultural power of the US. Russian art, strapped into the communist ideological straitjacket, could not compete."
This, also from the article, probably gets closer to the truth (i.e., moving wealth outside the banking system):
"Because Abstract Expressionism was expensive to move around and exhibit, millionaires and museums were called into play. Pre-eminent among these was Nelson Rockefeller, whose mother had co-founded the Museum of Modern Art in New York."
And something the article never mentions, I believe contemporary art also played a role in mind control, devaluing the natural God-given talent of a 'real artist' in favor of a fake artform (contemporary art) that could only be appreciated as brilliant when elite dictators instructed the people it was brilliant. Like Marina Abramovic's work. The mind control created a sense of inferiority in the public, who were told they just weren't smart enough to recognize the value in the art. It became like a cult within the art world: "obey or be exiled."
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/modern-art-was-cia-weapon-1578808.html