Abstract 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.
1990s Abstract Art
Acrylic, Paper
1980s Abstract Art
Paper, Gouache, Pencil
2010s Abstract Art
Paper
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Lacquer, India Ink, Acrylic, Pigment
2010s Abstract Art
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic, Pigment
1970s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
1980s Abstract Art
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Encaustic
2010s Abstract Art
Oil, Canvas
1970s Abstract Art
Paper, Oil Crayon, Mixed Media, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Paper, Acrylic, Watercolor, Monoprint
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Spray Paint, Acrylic
Early 2000s Abstract Art
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
1960s Abstract Art
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
1990s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Encaustic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Gesso, Canvas, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
1960s Abstract Art
Lithograph
1960s Abstract Art
Archival Paper, Lithograph
Late 20th Century Abstract Art
Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Cotton Canvas, Oil
1950s Abstract Art
Oil, Board
2010s Abstract Art
Digital Pigment, Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Gesso, Canvas, Mixed Media
Mid-20th Century Abstract Art
Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Latex, Mixed Media, Spray Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Spray Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Oil, Board
1970s Abstract Art
Lithograph
2010s Abstract Art
Linen, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Bold, energetic brushwork shapes an abstract interpretation of a flower. Thick layers of paint convey spontaneity and life, while soft touches of blue add surpr...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Cotton Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Paper, Inkjet
20th Century Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
1980s Abstract Art
Offset
Late 20th Century Abstract Art
Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
1970s Abstract Art
Lithograph
Early 2000s Abstract Art
Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Oil
1990s Abstract Art
Gesso, Canvas, Cotton, Paint, Varnish, Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, ...
1960s Abstract Art
Lithograph
Late 20th Century Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract 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 Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
1970s Abstract Art
Paper, Lithograph
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
1990s Abstract Art
Silver Gelatin
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
1960s Abstract Art
Crayon, Color Pencil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars
1980s Abstract Art
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
1980s Abstract Art
Screen





