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
Resin, Plaster, Encaustic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Steel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Birch, Wood Panel, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Wax, Encaustic, Wood Panel, Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wax, Oil, Acrylic, Archival Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Plastic, Wax, Oil
20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Glass, Found Objects, Plastic, Acrylic, Wood, Paper, Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Paper, Ink, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Paper, Ink, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Paper, Ink, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Archival Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Paper, Ink, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Paint, Mixed Media, Spray Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Metal
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Metal
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Board
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Oil Pastel, Graphite
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic, Spray Paint
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Wood, Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Oil Pastel, Graphite
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Watercolor, Mulberry Paper, Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Artist Linda Shaffer paints a vibrant, multi-layered mixed media abstract. A bright mix of turquoise, rust, gray, black, and yellow fill the scene in swirls and...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Paper, Acrylic, Graphite
Early 2000s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Terri Bell expresses an emotional abstraction of fragmented feelings. These small recollections span universally and happen to every one of us. She paint...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Silk, Thread, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Oil, Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Wax, Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Wood, Paint, Mixed Media, Spray Paint
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Digital, Monotype, Thread, Wood, Mixed Media, Encaustic, Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Steel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Archival Paper
Artist Comments
Artist Gail Ragains displays a dynamic rendering of a female figure sitting. The gestural and expressive paintwork create an emotionally charged atmosphere. Col...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Glitter, Ink, Acrylic, Archival Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Wax, Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Wax, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Oil Pastel, Graphite
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Archival Ink, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Oil Pastel, Graphite
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Gold Leaf
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Watercolor, Mulberry Paper, Pigment
Early 2000s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Pencil, Color Pencil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Watercolor, Mulberry Paper, Pigment
Artist Comments
Artist Crystal DiPietro displays an impressionist view of flourishing Palo Verde trees. It blooms with bright yellow flowers in the ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media