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.
2010s Abstract Art
Gold Leaf
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic, Wood Panel
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic, Wood Panel
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil, Graphite
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic, Wood Panel
2010s Abstract Art
Cotton Canvas, Spray Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic, Wood Panel
2010s Abstract Art
Paper, Pigment
2010s Abstract Art
Stainless Steel
2010s Abstract Art
Linen, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Linen, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Color
1990s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars, Other Medium
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
1970s Abstract Art
Watercolor, Gouache
2010s Abstract Art
Limestone
2010s Abstract Art
Linen, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Cotton Canvas, Spray Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Cotton Canvas, Spray Paint, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Cotton Canvas, Spray Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Stainless Steel
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Gesso, Wood, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Gold Leaf
1990s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars, Other Medium
2010s Abstract Art
Steel
2010s Abstract Art
Gold Leaf
2010s Abstract Art
Gesso, Wood, Acrylic
1950s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic, Gesso, Wood
2010s Abstract Art
Gesso, Wood, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Paper, Watercolor
1990s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars, Other Medium
1990s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars, Other Medium
1990s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars, Other Medium
1990s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars, Tissue Paper
2010s Abstract Art
Woodcut
20th Century Abstract Art
Watercolor
2010s Abstract Art
Stainless Steel
1990s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic, Tissue Paper, Stretcher Bars
1960s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil, Alkyd
2010s Abstract Art
Stainless Steel
1990s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars
2010s Abstract Art
Metal, Bronze, Copper
2010s Abstract Art
Stainless Steel
Artist Comments
"Whether it's fall, winter, spring, or summer it's always time for some colorful birch!" exclaims artist Lisa Elley. A stand of vivid birch trees glows in a b...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Bronze
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Stainless Steel
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Metal