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
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Watercolor, Mulberry Paper, Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Ink, Panel, Ballpoint Pen
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Ink, Panel, Ballpoint Pen
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Watercolor, Mulberry Paper, Pigment
1960s Abstract Mixed Media
Tapestry, Textile
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Acrylic, Board
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Board, Acrylic
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Encaustic, Acrylic, Pencil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Spray Paint
Artist Comments
Artist Steph Gimson crafts an abstract display of a butterfly in a collaged background. She depicts greenery through earthy tones an...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Spray Paint, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Wood
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Watercolor, Mulberry Paper, Pigment
19th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Lacquer, Pigment, Wood
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Watercolor, Mulberry Paper, Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Watercolor, Mulberry Paper, Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Watercolor, Mulberry Paper, Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Watercolor, Mulberry Paper, Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Gesso, Textile
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Archival Ink, Inkjet, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment, Photographic Pap...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Artist Melissa Gannon explores various methods and techniques in her art career to create a captivating image of ferns and underbrush deep in the woods. Utilizi...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Late 20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Plywood, Acrylic, Board
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Watercolor, Mulberry Paper, Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Foam, Mixed Media, Oil, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Watercolor, Mulberry Paper, Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Metal
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Handmade Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Plywood, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Watercolor, Mulberry Paper, Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
Early 2000s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Handmade Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Watercolor, Mulberry Paper, Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Plywood, Birch, Wood Panel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Wood Panel, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Granite, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Organic Material, Mixed Media, Encaustic, Wood Panel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Birch, Plywood, Wood Panel
Artist Comments
“This painting was inspired by the desire to come together, visit, share, and feel the comfort of good neighbors at the neighborhood block party,†says arti...
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, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Panel
Artist Comments
Dynamic gestural strokes in black swish and splatter above blocks of yellow and grey in this expressive abstract by artist Kris Haas. Drips of black form subtle...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Early 19th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Glass, Archival Paper
Artist Comments
Thick splashes and spatters in black appear over bold strokes of umber, yellow, and deep green in this expressive abstract by artist Kris Haas. Scratches and ma...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Artist Kris Haas creates expressive mixed-media abstracts on paper where she relies on intuition when combining blocks of color with free-form shapes. “I thin...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Worn and Torn is a derivative and ongoing series of artist Kris Haas' Disjointed Reality series. In this piece, abstract strokes appear in six translucent secti...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Worn and Torn is a derivative and ongoing series of artist Kris Haas' Disjointed Reality series. In this piece, a vibrant block of shifting colors in blue, gree...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media