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.
Late 20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Found Objects, Color
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Spray Paint, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Oil
Artist Comments
"Ideas are rife with this collage and acrylic composition," says artist Joey Korom. "Its intentionally rough surface features the addition of paper, cardboar...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Archival Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Oil, Magazine Paper, Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Archival Paper, Acrylic, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Artist Comments
"This multi-layered abstract was inspired by the hummingbirds in the beautiful desert landscape I walk through every day," shares artist Linda Shaffer. "I lov...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Graphite
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Late 20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Found Objects, Paper, Color
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Metal
Late 20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Black and White, Color
1990s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Fabric, Plastic, House Paint, Cardboard
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Late 20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Found Objects, Black and White
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Watercolor, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Epoxy Resin, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Found Objects, Black and White
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Organic Material, Mixed Media, Encaustic, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Color, Found Objects, Paper, Black and White
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paint, Paper, Mixed Media, Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Pencil, Paper, Found Objects, Ink, Gouache
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Pastel, Spray Paint
Late 20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Found Objects, Black and White
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Agata describes this atmospheric painting as the feeling of waking up early to the quiet delight of orange morning light and unexpected fog. She played with dif...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Handmade Paper, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Spray Paint, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Organic Material, Mixed Media, Encaustic, Wood Panel
1990s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Wood, House Paint
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Oil Pastel, Wax, Encaustic, Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Thread, Gouache, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
1960s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Wood Panel