Naum Knop
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Stone, Bronze
1960s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
Lithograph
1960s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
Lithograph
1960s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
Lithograph
1960s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
Lithograph
1960s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
Lithograph
1960s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
Lithograph
People Also Browsed
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass, Bronze, Enamel, Nickel
Vintage 1970s Italian Lounge Chairs
Leather, Fiberglass
Late 20th Century Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
Lithograph
Mid-20th Century Italian Renaissance Barware
Blown Glass
1970s Modern Figurative Prints
Etching, Lithograph
1960s Outsider Art Mixed Media
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings
Concrete
1930s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plaster
1810s Modern Still-life Photography
Silver Gelatin
Early 20th Century Hollywood Regency End Tables
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1980s Abstract Expressionist Figurative Sculptures
Glass, Blown Glass
17th Century Old Masters Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
20th Century Modern Abstract Paintings
Ink, Mixed Media, Watercolor
1970s Modern Figurative Prints
Etching, Lithograph
Recent Sales
Vintage 1970s Argentine Mid-Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Carrara Marble, Bronze
A Close Look at 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.
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