Abstract Mixed Media
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 Mixed Media
Archival Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Paper, Glue, Conté, Pastel, Acrylic, Color Pencil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Glitter, Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Glitter, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Glitter, Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Panel, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Metal
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Glitter, Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Glitter, Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Canvas, Encaustic
Artist Comments
Artist Darlene McElroy displays an expressionist profile of a woman with trendy bobbed hair. Beaded flowers decorate her crown over collaged elements of painted patterns. "She wears her heart on her sleeve and continually blows kisses to everyone she sees," shares Darlene. The white paper cutouts layered over the beige background allow the portrait to pop.
About the Artist
Darlene McElroy sees creating art as similar to reading Turkish coffee grounds. A story becomes revealed as one looks at the surface, texture and color. Her works use a variety of materials ranging from acrylic paints to photo transfers and collage. She currently lives in New Mexico and has been greatly influenced by the work of Robert Rauschenberg. She encourages viewers to search for their narrative interpretation when viewing a work.
Words that describe this painting: woman, kisses, feminine, figurative, narrative, storytelling, butterflies, flowers, expressionist, mixedmedia, profile, eye, expressionism, people, flora, mixed media artwork, beige
Blowing Kisses
Darlene McElroy
acyrlic, collage, dimensional collage on masonite...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Mixed Media, Encaustic, Watercolor
Early 2000s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Wax, Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Inkjet, Pigment, Archival Pigment
20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Varnish, Oil Pastel, Archival Ink, Acrylic, Graphite
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Metal
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Metal
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Other Medium
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Metal
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
C Print, Inkjet, Color, Pigment, Archival Pigment, Mixed Media, Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
An ornate flower crown rests on a young girl's head in artist Darlene McElroy's expressionist portrait. "It is a Hispanic tradition to be offered to the church ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Graphite
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Paper, Acrylic, Graphite
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Linen, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Oil, Canvas, Varnish, Charcoal
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Archival Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Oil Pastel, Graphite
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Graphite
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Archival Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Silk, Thread, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Joey Korom constructs an abstract expression of collaged materials. Cardboard, sheet music, wrapping paper, painting rag, and canary paper work togethe...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Silk, Thread, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Oil Pastel, Graphite
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas
1990s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Graphite
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Chalk, Tempera
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Archival Pigment
20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Crayon, Ink, Acrylic, Tissue Paper