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, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Pencil, Paper
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pastel
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Spray Paint, Acrylic, Archival Paper
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, India Ink
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pencil
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Enamel
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Plastic
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Gouache, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Mylar, Pencil, Pigment
Early 2000s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Casein
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Plastic
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil Crayon, Spray Paint, Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Acrylic
1940s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pencil
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Wax
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Wax
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Spray Paint, Watercolor, Pencil
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Encaustic
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1980s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Spray Paint, Watercolor, Pencil
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Gouache, Pigment
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Paper
1980s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paint, Paper, Ink, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Digital
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Gouache, Handmade Paper
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Charcoal
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Acrylic, Graphite
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil Crayon, Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Oil
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Plastic
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink
1930s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Gouache, Handmade Paper
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Digital
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Plastic
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper
Early 2000s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Etching
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Gouache
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pastel, Oil
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Gouache
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Archival Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Archival Paper, Digital
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Mylar, Pencil