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Abstract Figurative Photography

ABSTRACT STYLE

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.

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Style: Abstract
Street Fashionista in Pink Ensemble on New York City Rainy Day
Located in Miami, FL
Street Photography meets Fashion Photography in this boldly graphic image of a stylish woman with an umbrella crossing the street. The composition is minimal as its color scheme is b...
Category

2010s Abstract Figurative Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

Set In Stone/Boss - Ltd Ed of 10
Located in New York, NY
Ancient Tombstones of The Hamptons Photographed and Layered with images to create abstract narratives. Archival Ink. Produced by Dye Sublimation - whi...
Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Figurative Photography

Materials

Metal

"Red for Love 10" Photography 24" x 37" inch Edition of 11 by Tetiana Kalivoshko
Located in Culver City, CA
"Red for Love 10" Photography 24" x 37" inch Edition of 11 by Tetiana Kalivoshko "The Red One - That Is Love" "The Red One - That Is Love" is a thought-provoking art series by Tetia...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Digital Pigment

"Red for Love 11" Photography 18" x 28" inch Edition of 24 by Tetiana Kalivoshko
Located in Culver City, CA
"Red for Love 11" Photography 18" x 28" inch Edition of 24 by Tetiana Kalivoshko "The Red One - That Is Love" "The Red One - That Is Love" is a thought-provoking art series by Tetia...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Digital Pigment

"Red for Love 2" Figurative Photography 24 x 37 in Ed 1/11 by Tetiana Kalivoshko
Located in Culver City, CA
"Red for Love 2" Figurative Photography 24 x 37 in Ed 1/11 by Tetiana Kalivoshko "The Red One - That Is Love" "The Red One - That Is Love" is a thought-provoking art series by Tetia...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Digital Pigment

"Red for Love 3" Photography 24" x 37" inch Edition of 11 by Tetiana Kalivoshko
Located in Culver City, CA
"Red for Love 3" Photography 24" x 37" inch Edition of 11 by Tetiana Kalivoshko "The Red One - That Is Love" "The Red One - That Is Love" is a thought-provoking art series by Tetian...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Digital Pigment

"Butterfly 5" Photography 24" x 24" in Edition 1/24 by Giuliano Bekor
Located in Culver City, CA
"Butterfly 5" Photography 24" x 24" in Edition 1/24 by Giuliano Bekor Title: Butterfly B12 Year: 2018 Print size: 24" x 24" Inch Edition: 1/24 Artist proof: 2 Medium: Archival fi...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Young girl in an Couture Pink Dress, Fashion Photography
Located in Miami, FL
The interplay of light and shadow, greys and magenta transform a portrait of a flamboyantly dressed young girl into an optically engaging abstraction composed of alternating patterns...
Category

2010s Abstract Figurative Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment

Young girl in an Couture Pink Dress, Fashion Photography
Located in Miami, FL
The interplay of light and shadow, greys and magenta, transform a portrait of a flamboyantly dressed young girl into an optically engaging abstraction composed of alternating pattern...
Category

2010s Abstract Figurative Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper, Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

Urban Sunbather, New York City
Located in Miami, FL
Elevated view of women sunbathing on the basketball court in New York City. Signed, dated and numbered 2/15 lower right recto, other sizes available, unframed, printed later, Printed...
Category

2010s Abstract Figurative Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Inkjet

Silhouette Of People Walking On New York City Street
Located in Miami, FL
Elevated view of people and silver light on New York City street. This archival color photograph by fine art photographer Mitchell Funk is signed, dated and numbered 2/15, lower righ...
Category

2010s Abstract Figurative Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Inkjet

Panda Pandemonium Coney Island Teddy Bear
Located in Miami, FL
Cute and cuddly Panda Bears lined are lined unexpectedly as their signature graphic black and white shapes interact with the surrounding colored walls. Inkjet Archival Print 43 × 29...
Category

2010s Abstract Figurative Photography

Materials

Inkjet

"Out of Siege #1579" - Figurative Black and White Photography - Zao Wou-Ki
Located in Atlanta, GA
"Out of Siege #1579" is a black and white photograph and is edition 1/12 + 3 AP. Zhou Peng is a fine art photographer from Shanghai, China. Formally trained as an oil painter, Peng...
Category

2010s Abstract Figurative Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

"Out of Siege #1390" - Figurative Black and White Photography - Zao Wou-Ki
Located in Atlanta, GA
"Out of Siege #1390" is a black and white photograph and is edition 1/12 + 3 AP. Zhou Peng is a fine art photographer from Shanghai, China. Formally trained as an oil painter, Peng...
Category

2010s Abstract Figurative Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

"Out of Siege #1729" - Figurative Black and White Photography - Zao Wou-Ki
Located in Atlanta, GA
"Out of Siege #1729" is a black and white photograph and is edition 1/12 + 3 AP. Zhou Peng is a fine art photographer from Shanghai, China. Formally trained as an oil painter, Peng...
Category

2010s Abstract Figurative Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

"WB9" Photography (FRAMED) 62" x 42" inch Edition of 10 by Giuliano Bekor
Located in Culver City, CA
"WB9" Photography (FRAMED) 62" x 42" inch Edition of 10 by Giuliano Bekor Print size 62x42 Inches Artwork finished size 64x44 Inches Limited edition of 10 Artist proof 2 Signed and numbered by the artist. Comes with COA issues by the artist. Medium This artwork printed on the highest resolution archival fine art 100% cotton rag velvet Somerset museum quality smooth surface heavyweight paper. It’s printed with a high saturation finish. Mounted on half inch thick dibond. Coated with a museum quality archival premier print shield with extra UV protection. Custom gallery style matte black finish Roma frame. WILD BELOW series Glowing projections of marine life flood the darkness of an aquatic underworld. Evoking the silence following a dive into the ocean, this series gives the viewer a sense of being submerged. Detailed projections create compositional magic on the bodies of human subjects; water droplets render movement and transmit light across the fluid landscape. ABOUT THE ARTIST Internationally recognized photographer, Giuliano Bekor, holds a portfolio that includes work from the realms of fashion, beauty, celebrity, advertising, and fine art. Giuliano’s photography has been featured in top publications around the globe, and his client list includes an endless file of beauty industry leaders, advertising agencies, celebrities, producers, and artists. With 30 years in the industry, Giuliano has perfected his craft to an exceptional level of expertise. Composed of light, color, space and form, Giuliano brings ideas conceptualized in his own imagination into reality throughout his work. Currently living between New York and Los Angeles, Giuliano is often on the move traveling for work and inspiration. Always the restless visionary, he ceases to continually express his fresh and nuanced style. For Giuliano Bekor, a photograph is an image that comes into being consciously, composed of light, color, space and form. Like a painter, he sketches, refining ideas through pen and pencil well before the shutter clicks. A camera is strictly a means to an end, a way of making a palpable visual record of an idea that gestates in his mind, gains shape by his hand, and resolves through his eye as it peers through the lens. His subject is the human body, almost always nude. These images delve into the splendor of the body - how it can express the inner meaning of who we are. Limbs, torsos, muscles and bones are exposed as though carved out of a supple, glowing stone that flexes and twists. Many of these photographs feature subjects posed with the eyes obscured, the face covered. If we look closely, Bekor says, we can see that the body is as much a window into the soul as the eyes. This is a gallery of the soul etched into the forms we assume in the physical world. Through exaggerated contrast between light and dark, smooth and textured, vaporous and tactile, Giuliano deliberately filters the extraneous. The camera captures the image, but for Bekor each exposure is a transformation - of himself, his subjects, and us. He is digging into uneasy turf, fraught with tension: masculine/feminine, heroic/cowardly, shameless/shameful, eternal/fleeting. The intensity of detail, the fiercely exquisite perfection of the bodies themselves, the unflinching, scrupulous engagement of the lens, negates all pretense of politeness. Confronted, we are summoned to look. So we must. And we do. And we experience the beautiful human forms we inhabit and the silent, eloquent language they speak. EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS Giuliano Bekor’s most recent fine art photography solo shows include: 2019 - March Lips The cool HeArt...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Archival Pigment

Street Photography in New York - People Minimized to Colorful Abstract Shapes
Located in Miami, FL
New York City pedestrians form a graphic pattern integrating with a colorful green construction wall and an orange day-glow concrete traffic barrier. Three orange day-glow stripes e...
Category

2010s Abstract Figurative Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

Man in Colorful African Theme Clothes Illuminated by Shaft of Light
Located in Miami, FL
Rays of golden light burn through New York's streets and illuminate a man dressed in a vivid African-themed shirt with matching shorts. He dominates the composition that emphasizes ...
Category

2010s Abstract Figurative Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

Cute Dog Running in the Rain by Mitchell Funk
Located in Miami, FL
A cute dog with a ball in his mouth runs in the rain. Street Photographer Mithcell Funk, capture a decisive moment in a perfect composition of red and blue triangles. Funk is an...
Category

2010s Abstract Figurative Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

Silhouette of Running boy. Pink and Magenta Wall Guaymas Mexico
Located in Miami, FL
This is an image generations ahead of its time in use of color and design. It was shot on Kodachrome25 and manipulated with an analog device more than 50 years ago but looks state-...
Category

1970s Abstract Figurative Photography

Materials

Inkjet

New York City Marathon Runners Blur
Located in Miami, FL
His early color work anticipates developments in color photography by generations. In 1970 he participated in one the first " Color Photography" shows at a major museum. Brooklyn Mus...
Category

2010s Abstract Figurative Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper, Inkjet

Synchronous Pedestrians - Three Figures Crosswalk
Located in Miami, FL
Three synchronous figures cross a Manhattan street just after a snow fall. The normally black pavement is turned light grey due to the salting of the street. Mitchell Funk is a "Colo...
Category

2010s Abstract Figurative Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper, Inkjet

Cable Car Silhouette at Sunset San Francisco
Located in Miami, FL
Dreamy color scheme and reflections of light on the cable car tracks evokes an ethereal mood to this well know Nob Hill location. Signed and dated on lower right, numbered on verso...
Category

2010s Abstract Figurative Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Colored Boots Times Square
Located in Miami, FL
Signed and dated on lower right, numbered on verso 2/15 , unframed. Other sizes available, other sizes available , printed later, Printed on Hahnemühle Fine Art paper
Category

2010s Abstract Figurative Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment

Abstract figurative photography for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Abstract figurative photography available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add figurative photography created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of orange, blue, pink, purple and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Mitchell Funk, Michael Banks, Zhou Peng, and Kimberly Schneider Photography. Frequently made by artists working with Paper, and Pigment Print and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Abstract figurative photography, so small editions measuring 8 inches across are also available. Prices for figurative photography made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $250 and tops out at $24,750, while the average work sells for $2,350.