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
Silk
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Watercolor, Mulberry Paper, Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Archival Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Panel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Inkjet, Pigment, Archival Pigment
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Oil, Graphite
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Linen, Mixed Media, Vinyl
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Panel, Handmade Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wax, Acrylic, Pigment, Canvas, Plaster
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Organic Material, Mixed Media, Encaustic, Wood Panel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Silk, Thread, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Artist Comments
A modern distressed abstract in hues of black, blue, and yellow by artist Kris Haas. Feather-like shapes spread and spiral from top to bottom leaving varying sh...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Handmade Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Inkjet, Pigment, Archival Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Panel, Mixed Media
1960s Abstract Mixed Media
Tape, Laid Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Charcoal, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Charcoal, Oil, Spray Paint
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Archival Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Giclée
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Plexiglass, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Marble
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Ceramic, Glaze, Oil
20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Ceramic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic Polymer, Found Objects, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Wood Panel
Late 20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Rag Paper
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Charcoal, Spray Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mosaic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Thread, Found Objects
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Acrylic, Screen
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Wood Panel, Plaster, LED Light, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Found Objects, Paper, Watercolor
1960s Abstract Mixed Media
Screen
Artist Comments
A vibrant multi-layered mixed media abstract of a heart in black, yellow, orange, red, purple, and gold by artist Linda Shaffer. In...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
1940s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Crayon, Pencil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Inkjet, Pigment, Archival Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Inkjet, Pigment, Archival Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Inkjet, Pigment, Archival Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Spray Paint
Artist Comments
Artist Joey Korom offers this work as an interpretation of Earth’s landscape from a sky-high vantage point. Joey's use of a subtle color palette works in tand...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Thread, Acrylic, Pencil
Artist Comments
A burst of colorful squares with various patterns intricately arranged by artist Tomo Mori. "I make tiles with fabrics, then utilize a traditional mosaic techni...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Late 20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media