Abstract More Art
Beginning in the early 20th century, abstract art became a leading style of modernism. Rather than portray the world in a way that represented reality, as had been the dominating style of Western art in the previous centuries, abstract paintings, prints and sculptures are marked by a shift to geometric forms, gestural shapes and experimentation with color to express ideas, subject matter and scenes.
Although abstract art flourished in the early 1900s, propelled by movements like Fauvism and Cubism, it was rooted in the 19th century. In the 1840s, J.M.W. Turner emphasized light and motion for atmospheric paintings in which concrete details were blurred, and Paul Cézanne challenged traditional expectations of perspective in the 1890s.
Some of the earliest abstract artists — Wassily Kandinsky and Hilma af Klint — expanded on these breakthroughs while using vivid colors and forms to channel spiritual concepts. Painter Piet Mondrian, a Dutch pioneer of the art movement, explored geometric abstraction partly owing to his belief in Theosophy, which is grounded in a search for higher spiritual truths and embraces philosophers of the Renaissance period and medieval mystics. Black Square, a daringly simple 1913 work by Russian artist Kazimir Malevich, was a watershed statement on creating art that was free “from the dead weight of the real world,” as he later wrote.
Surrealism in the 1920s, led by artists such as Salvador Dalí, Meret Oppenheim and others, saw painters creating abstract pieces in order to connect to the subconscious. When Abstract Expressionism emerged in New York during the mid-20th century, it similarly centered on the process of creation, in which Helen Frankenthaler’s expressive “soak-stain” technique, Jackson Pollock’s drips of paint, and Mark Rothko’s planes of color were a radical new type of abstraction.
Conceptual art, Pop art, Hard-Edge painting and many other movements offered fresh approaches to abstraction that continued into the 21st century, with major contemporary artists now exploring it, including Anish Kapoor, Mark Bradford, El Anatsui and Julie Mehretu.
Find original abstract paintings, sculptures, prints and other art on 1stDibs.
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Paper, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Paper, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Paper, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Paper, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract More Art
Canvas, Acrylic, Glitter
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Linen, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Canvas, Linen, Oil
2010s Abstract More Art
Canvas, Acrylic
1970s Abstract More Art
Wool
2010s Abstract More Art
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Acrylic, Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Steel, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Mixed Media, Cotton Canvas, Spray Paint
2010s Abstract More Art
Acrylic
2010s Abstract More Art
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
"The source of inspiration for this painting came as I was walking in Manhattan in the rain," says artist Onelio Marrero. "This street is based on 8th Avenue ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract More Art
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Nicole Lamothe presents a bundle of fresh petunias placed in a clear rounded vase. "The petunias flourish in the garden, ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Lisa Elley displays an impression of a breezy coastal seascape on a beautiful summer's day. She draws inspiration from one of her plein air painting tr...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Oil
2010s Abstract More Art
Paper, Acrylic
Artist Comments
In this painting, artist Doug Cosbie features small-scale American tobacco farms with their fields. Each has a curing shed that is attached to the main structure. "The atmosphere is humid after the rain, and the air has an overwhelming but delightfully sweet and pungent smell."
About the Artist
Artist Doug Cosbie presents the vibrancy found in nature with his impressionist, rural architecture centered artwork. Longing to create something that connects with people, Cosbie spent countless years perfecting how he portrays the world on canvas. Within his journey, he studied as an apprentice in the studios of Sam Black and Jack Shadbolt. As a plein air artist, Doug's studio is a portable pochade box...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Oil
Artist Comments
This painting is part of Suren Nersisyan's series of California landscapes focusing on the nature and stunning light around Los Angeles. He draws inspiration ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Archival Ink, Giclée, Archival Pigment
2010s Abstract More Art
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Abstract More Art
Acrylic, Laid Paper, Magazine Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Archival Ink, Giclée, Archival Pigment
20th Century Abstract More Art
Paper, Offset
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract More Art
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Archival Paper
1980s Abstract More Art
Gold, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Archival Ink, Giclée, Archival Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Fabric, Silk, Wood
2010s Abstract More Art
Canvas, Color
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract More Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract More Art
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Paper, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Archival Ink, Giclée, Archival Pigment
2010s Abstract More Art
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
Artist Comments
A contemporary abstract piece features vibrant stripes pulsing in rhythmic succession. Some edges stay defined while others remain blurred, allowing the colors ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Acrylic
2010s Abstract More Art
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Archival Ink, Giclée, Archival Pigment
Artist Comments
In his distinct style of impressionism, artist Onelio Marrero displays a man in a suit reading the news as he sits by an empty dining hall. He bases the piece on sketches of a Back Bay, Boston restaurant named Bistro du Midi. He creates a narrative of an imaginary proprietor perusing a newspaper before the establishment opens and the clients fill the place. Onelio gives the viewer a sense of the décor and light streaming through the windows - beyond it, a hint of the Boston Public Garden.
About the Artist
Artist Onelio Marrero paints impressionist city scenes of everyday life. He captures the romanticism of New York City, from the picturesque fountains in Central Park to a glistening city street on a rainy afternoon. He creates a sense of nostalgia and intimacy with his work, offering the feeling that you have visited this particular scene before. “Each play of light, each texture, and each movement of a figure can have a captivating effect on me,†says Onelio. He studied at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art where he mastered discerning color and values, giving his work a more spontaneous appearance. Onelio’s work is an appreciation for beauty in all of its greatest forms; nature, art, and people.
Words that describe this painting: restaurant, newspaper, bistro, cafe, table, Boston, Public Garden, Boston Common...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Oil
1970s Abstract More Art
Screen
2010s Abstract More Art
Ink, Rag Paper, Monotype, Gouache
Mid-20th Century Abstract More Art
Fabric, Stretcher Bars
2010s Abstract More Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract More Art
Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract More Art
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Abstract More Art
Sandstone
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Onelio Marrero spends much of his summers happily gardening and caring for his pond. There are also several others within walking distance from his hom...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract More Art
Canvas, Oil
