Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
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.
1970s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1970s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pastel, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pen
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Canvas, Graphite
20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Charcoal
20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Watercolor
Artist Comments
"Vietnam is a country of contrasts - lowlands with lush green ricefields like this one as well as mountains around every corner," says artist James Nyika. "This picture was so compelling because of the huge color contrast of the bright luscious foreground and the greying distant mountains. I wanted to capture these contrasts that are pervasive throughout the country."
About the Artist
Artist James Nyika paints the glowing atmosphere of cities across the world. As a child growing up in Kenya, he found art materials at the student bookshop and also borrowed just about every art history volume from the British Council library in Nairobi. "I checked out the same books over and over just to stare at the art, to try and understand how it was created," says James. With family encouragement to study engineering, James moved to the U.S. and immersed himself in science studies at Boston University. Several years after embarking on a tech career, he set a goal to create at least one painting a week, never throwing away any works and learning as much as possible in his off hours. Today, James still balances his full-time career designing large software systems with his prolific output as a painter. "Painting is a great antidote to the regularity of a computing profession and I really value it for the uncertainty that it brings - something frowned upon when writing code."
Words that describe this painting: Vietnam, paddy, rice field...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pastel, Cardboard, Pencil
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Acrylic, Watercolor, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil Pastel, Acrylic, Paper
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal, Laid Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Archival Ink, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Watercolor
Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gesso, Canvas, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Watercolor, Oil
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink
20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Acrylic, Paper, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Mixed Media, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Mixed Media, Watercolor
20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Handmade Paper
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink
Late 19th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, India Ink
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gouache
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Handmade Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Handmade Paper
Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Cardboard
Mid-20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil
1960s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Chalk, Paper
1980s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal
Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Handmade Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil
20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Mid-20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pastel, Ink
Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, India Ink, Acrylic
1960s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pastel, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Handmade Paper
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Mixed Media, Watercolor
20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil Pastel, Pastel, Handmade Paper
Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor