Abstract Landscape Paintings
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 Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil, Linen
Late 20th Century Abstract Landscape Paintings
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Gouache, Handmade Paper
Late 20th Century Abstract Landscape Paintings
Masonite, Tempera
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil Crayon, Dye, Cotton Canvas, Ink, Oil, Acrylic
1960s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Resin, Epoxy Resin, Oil Pastel
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Gesso, Canvas, Oil, Acrylic, Wood Panel
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Gesso, Canvas, Oil, Acrylic, Wood Panel
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil, Linen
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Gesso, Wood, Acrylic
1990s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Gesso, Canvas, Cotton, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1970s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Bold, contrasting colors surround the dominating layers of orange and yellow. Animated marks and stains add energy and texture to the composition. The joyful wa...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
1950s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1950s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Charcoal, Oil, Wood Panel
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Clay, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Linen, Dye, Oil, Acrylic
1980s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Watercolor, Lithograph, Rag Paper
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Lacquer, Oil
Artist Comments
Tall trees stretch skyward, guiding the eye toward drifting clouds. The upward perspective evokes the quiet awe of standing beneath a towering forest. Blue stre...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Linen, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Enamel
Artist Comments
This abstract painting invites quiet reflection, evoking the stillness of a misty landscape mirrored in calm waters. A gentle palette of greens and blues wash...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
1950s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
Artist Comments
A thickly textured palette knife painting of an old saguaro cactus standing against a blooming spring desert backdrop. "This painting was inspired by the incredible Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California," shares artist Lisa Elley. "It's where the Colorado and Mojave Deserts collide with amazing vistas and dazzling flowers."
About the Artist
Working almost exclusively with a palette knife, Lisa Elley maneuvers her artistic blade with an uncanny fluidity. Why paint only with the knife? She says, "when I paint with a brush, which I do occasionally, I tend to focus on the detail. With a palette knife I can't focus on the detail too much, so my paintings are looser, and more gestural, with bigger sweeps and strokes." This technique is called wet-on-wet. And it seems to be quite popular, as she has been bestowed the title "Knife Queen" by her facebook fans. Fun fact: Lisa's high school art teacher told her to study harder at math, as a career in art was "impossible."
Words that describe this painting: desert, Mojave, flowers, floral, spring, cactus, sun, mountains, sky, landscape, California, Joshua Tree, impressionism, landscape, western, representational, oil painting, purple
Desert Bloom...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Wool, Canvas, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Wax, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
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 Landscape Paintings
Oil
1960s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
A green and blue color field depicts an abstract image of Central Park in New York City. In this piece, artist Kajal Zaveri draws on her weekend walks in the pa...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
1960s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1960s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Linen, Spray Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
