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Abstract 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
#95, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#240, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#33, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#249, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#180, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

Pink Flight - underwater nude photograph - print on aluminum 28” x 36”
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This dreamy underwater fine art photograph captures a woman suspended in soft coral and rose-toned waters, creating a feeling of weightless freedom. The gentle pink palette ranges fr...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Metal

"Abstract Composition I" in Red Orange Yellow and Black Modern Art Spots
Located in Brooklyn, NY
"Abstract Composition I" by James Chadwick is from his series that takes from vintage patterning, zooming in to see the abstraction of the detail which ...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Paper

Doe and Fawn. Limited edition color photograph
Located in Miami Beach, FL
The exploration of the concept of play as an artistic impulse presents playful, almost "baroque-written"photographs that are the result of a repeated (recycled) notion of play. Start...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

#216, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#247, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#105, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

Gaia 44 - Black and White Diptych Skeleton Trees Fall in Catalonia Photograph
Located in Brighton, GB
Gaia 44 - Black and White Diptych Skeleton Trees Fall in Catalonia Photograph by Jaume Llorens Bach Gaia 44 is a 18cm x 24cm Black-and-White print on Premio Kozo 180gsm White Paper ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper, Black and White, Digital

A Raccoon. Limited edition color photograph
Located in Miami Beach, FL
The exploration of the concept of play as an artistic impulse presents playful, almost "baroque-written"photographs that are the result of a repeated (recycled) notion of play. Start...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

The Wolf. Limited edition color photograph
Located in Miami Beach, FL
The exploration of the concept of play as an artistic impulse presents playful, almost "baroque-written"photographs that are the result of a repeated (recycled) notion of play. Start...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

#171, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#118, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#167, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#102, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#205, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#182, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#186, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#164, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#176, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#175, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#150, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

Aspen Study I - large scale photograph of Indian summer autumnal color palette
Located in San Francisco, CA
Aspen Study I by Frank Schott a series of images capturing the yellow golden Indian summer foliage palette of aspen trees in California's Sierra Nevada ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Archival Ink, Giclée

#153, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#147, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#122, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#103, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#101, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#93, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#97, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#73, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#44, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#24, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#14, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#257, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#39, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#46, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#244, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#83, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#191, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

Contemporary large figurative painting of women on paper "The Bonded Three"
Located in VÉNISSIEUX, FR
“The Bonded Three” is a vibrant contemporary figurative painting depicting three women by French artist Natalya Mougenot, blending expressive color, bold abstraction, and emotional d...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Paper, Acrylic

Seastar, Lockheed T-33 Silverstar, Chino, USA, 2015 - Aero series (Air)
Located in New York City, NY
Manolo Chretien, France Seastar, Lockheed T-33 Silverstar, Chino, USA, 2015 27 x 43 in Edition of 9 Dye Sublimation on Aluminum 35 x 57 in Edition of...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Dye Transfer

Spiare. From The Lavori in Corso series
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Eduardo Rezende’s 2024 series Lavori in Corso revisits one of the artist’s most enduring themes: the urban and architectural landscape — this time focused on construction sites, scaf...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Canvas, Archival Pigment

Leveza. From The Lavori in Corso series
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Eduardo Rezende’s 2024 series Lavori in Corso revisits one of the artist’s most enduring themes: the urban and architectural landscape — this time focused on construction sites, scaf...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Canvas, Archival Pigment

#91, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#98, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to explore the deeper structures underlying film and digital imagery. Bas...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

"Manhattan Bridge" New York, Giclee Print, Abstract Photography, Limited Ed.
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Manhattan Bridge / from the series of Lights of New York / Photograph Creator: Hatice Besun Creation year: 2021 Dimension: 48 x 32" External Dimension( with white border) Height: 4...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

"Washington Square" New York, Giclee Print, Abstract Photography, Limited Ed.
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Washington Square / From the series of Lights of New York / Photograph Creator: Hatice Besun Creation year: 2022 Dimension: 40 x 50" External Dimension( with white border) : Height...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment, Giclée, Archival Ink, Archival Paper

New York City Street Starbursts over Mid-Town Manhattan -Abstract Photography
Located in Miami, FL
Streetlights on Manhattans' Sixth Avenure transform into a starburst of kaleidoscope color through an act of creativity from Photographer Mitchell Funk. The emanating light is a m...
Category

1970s Abstract Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

#150, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#114, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

Interior Black and White Photography
Located in Houston, TX
Black and white interior photograph developed using the Sabattier process. The photograph is not framed. Artist Biography: Pat Truax is a Texas based fine art photograph best known ...
Category

1960s Abstract Photography

Materials

Photographic Film, Photographic Paper

"Waterfall Galleria" Black and White Figurative Photography
Located in Houston, TX
Photograph of the iconic waterfall in the Houston Galleria area. This photograph showcases the Sabbttier process or the results of solarization. The photograph is not framed. Artist...
Category

1960s Abstract Photography

Materials

Photographic Film

ID No. 4 The Confident. Limited edition photograph
Located in Miami Beach, FL
In this early photographic series, Dubravka Lazić turns her lens toward a subject rarely treated with such a quiet dignity: domestic cats. Shot in 2005, these portraits mimic the fo...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

ID No. 5 The Naive. Limited edition photograph
Located in Miami Beach, FL
In this early photographic series, Dubravka Lazić turns her lens toward a subject rarely treated with such a quiet dignity: domestic cats. Shot in 2005, these portraits mimic the fo...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

#93, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

#82, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Pigment

Abstract photography for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Abstract 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 photography created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, purple, red, orange and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Mitchell Funk, Paul Snell, Michael Banks, and Seb Janiak. 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 photography, so small editions measuring 0.5 inches across are also available. Prices for 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 $50 and tops out at $36,000, while the average work sells for $3,359.