Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
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 Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Printer's Ink, India Ink, Graphite
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil Pastel, Oil
Early 2000s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel, Pen, Paper
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Archival Paper, Permanent Marker
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Archival Paper, Permanent Marker
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Watercolor, Rice Paper
1990s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Archival Paper, Lucite
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Mixed Media, Watercolor, Gouache
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Paper
1990s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Graphite
1980s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic, Paper, Pencil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Watercolor, Rice Paper
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Crayon
1940s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Pen
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Gouache
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel, Mixed Media, Graphite
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Graphite
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Color Pencil, Woodcut
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Charcoal, Sumi Ink
Artist Comments
Artist Eric Wilson presents an abstract with energetic ringed color formations. The rich layers of inks beautifully explode on the scene. Vigorous streams of red, turquoise, and yellow merge into a prismatic spectrum. "The rings within the work represent no beginning or ending and are a reflection of our energetic spiritual...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ink
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Watercolor, Rice Paper
1980s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Oil Crayon, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic, Archival Paper
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Mixed Media, Watercolor, Etching
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Acrylic
1940s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Gouache, Archival Paper
Late 20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
1920s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Laid Paper, Pen
1990s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Pencil, Paper, Graphite
1980s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Postcard, Mixed Media, Offset
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Permanent Marker
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Archival Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic, Archival Paper
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Pencil
Early 2000s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Watercolor, Permanent Marker
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Early 2000s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Watercolor, Permanent Marker
Early 2000s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Watercolor, Permanent Marker
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic, Archival Paper
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Gouache
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic, Archival Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Watercolor, Rice Paper
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic, Archival Paper
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic, Archival Paper
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Permanent Marker
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Permanent Marker
Early 2000s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Watercolor, Permanent Marker
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic, Archival Paper
Early 2000s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Mixed Media