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.
Wandering with flowers in hand, Mixed Media on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
A vivid burst of color and movement, this painting captures the unrestrained energy of nature in full flourish. Bold strokes of crimson, fuchsia, and emerald collide with flashes of ...
Mixed Media
Borrowed Landscapes Study No. 210/Sheep Lake, CO
By Nina Tichava
Located in Denver, CO
Nina Tichava is a pattern-based, abstract painter primarily focused on spatial relationships that emphasize the inherent surface quality, color, and visual variations in her work. Sh...
Acrylic, Postcard, Pen, Graphite
$650
Late Night Thoughts 2 -21st Century, Contemporary Abstract Expressionism, People
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
“You are such a people-pleaser' A few years ago, I was labelled a 'people-pleaser'. I tried to make everyone happy, safe, and secure, even when I was falling apart, and I usually ove...
Canvas, Ink, Acrylic
Ryan Cronin - Untitled III, Drawing 2009
By Ryan Cronin
Located in Stamford, CT
Untitled III Ryan Cronin Oil Pastels on Paper 30" x 22.5" When people look at his work Cronin wants them to feel an immediate impact, even if they’re not sure what hit them. The raw...
Paper, Oil Pastel
Brighter Days, Abstract Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Soothing waters meet the horizon. Layers of paint add a distinct depth to the scene, while simple strokes define the details. Artist Jennifer Hanson...
Mixed Media
Untitled double sided mixed media work on bespoke 3-D standalone frame
By Alan Shields
Located in New York, NY
Alan Shields Untitled double sided mixed media work, 1974 Mixed media: watercolor, string, and torn paper held in custom standing frame Signed, dated, and numbered lower edge '10/12 ...
Textile, Paper, Mixed Media, Watercolor, Thread, Pencil
Ryan Cronin - Crap Fair, Painting 2001
By Ryan Cronin
Located in Stamford, CT
Crap Fair Ryan Cronin Paint on Paper 30" x 22.5" When people look at his work Cronin wants them to feel an immediate impact, even if they’re not sure what hit them. The raw, almost ...
Paint, Paper
On Reflection. Contemporary Mixed Media Abstract Painting
Located in Brecon, Powys
Laser cut plywood with oil and acrylic on canvas
Canvas, Plywood, Oil, Acrylic
"Dressed Up Properties", Abstract, Pink, Red, Yellow, Blue, Mixed Media
Located in Franklin, MA
Monica DeSalvo’s “Dressed Up Properties” is a 22 x 30 inch triptych composed of three abstract acrylic monoprints with leaf forms. Red, yellow, royal blue, magenta, pink, sky blue, and hints of green and orange run from bright and crisp to muted and distressed. Handwritten math equations are exposed through the imagery on the left and right panels printed on vintage ruled...
Mixed Media, Archival Paper, Monotype, Acrylic, Rag Paper
$2,800
Calligraphy, 1964 Abstract Mid-Century Painting by Edward Marecak, Denver Artist
Located in Denver, CO
"Calligraphy" is an original mid-20th-century abstract painting by celebrated Denver artist Edward Marecak (1919–1993). Executed in mixed media on paper, the composition features dyn...
Mixed Media
Hushed Moment 4
Located in Santa Fe, NM
Encaustic on panel. It's simple; I create art because it makes me happy. I try not to overthink the process of what I’m painting and let my intuition be my guide. I love laying do...
Encaustic
$350
1960s "Shifting" Collage Intaglio Etching Blue Yellow Pink NY Artist Myril Adler
By Myril Adler
Located in Arp, TX
Myril Adler "Shifting" c.1960s Intaglio etching collage, ink on paper 5.25"x2.5" unframed Signed and titled in ink Myril Adler, was born on September 22, 1920 in Vitebsk, Russia (no...
Paper, Ink, Intaglio
$9,500
Tom Holland - Truck in Hills, signed tempera painting, Charles Cowles Gallery
By Tom Holland
Located in New York, NY
Tom Holland Untitled (Truck in Hills), 1965 (Mid Century Modern Art) Tempera, Wood with PVC finish. Hand signed, dated and titled on the back Framed with Charles Cowles Gallery labe...
Wood, Mixed Media, Tempera
Nolan / ceramic wall sculpture
Located in Burlingame, CA
Glowing warmth like candle light in this organic, clean, minimal and meditative sculptural wall relief that is ceramic on painted wood panel. 30 x 30 x 3 inches. A beautiful and tact...
Ceramic
$6,400Sale Price|20% Off
Screen 2022.2 (grid painting abstract wood contemporary vivid colors optical art
Located in Quebec, Quebec
In Melisa’s optical and pulsating compositions, the natural world acts as blue-print while she explores the notion of the sublime through blur and precision. The artist develops an a...
Spray Paint, Wood Panel
$11,384
ABSTRACT Contemporary Artist French Rose Madone New Artwork Nature earth colors
By Rose Madone
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
At Escat Gallery, we are committed to maintaining the highest standards of trust and professionalism for our collectors. Every artwork in our collection comes with a Certificate of A...
Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media
Taos Series
By Harry Nadler
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Taos Series Mixed media on handmade paper Signed and dated by the artist lower right Archival framing with Conversation Glass Frame size: 29 3/4 x 34 inches Image size: 19 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches Provenance: Peter Marciniak, New Hampshire Distinguished Midwest Private Collection Regarding the artist: Select Exhibition: 1991 Franz Bader Gallery, Washington, D.C. (solo) 1980 Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY 1974 Bertha Schaefer Gallery; New York, NY (solo) 1972 Childe Hassam Purchase Show, National Institute of the Arts and Letters 1971 "The Turkish Bath of Ingres,” Louvre Museum, Paris, France 1971 Guest Artist, Tamarind Institute; Albuquerque, NM 1970 “American Drawings of the Sixties,” New School Art Center; New York, NY 1966 Dorsky Gallery, New York, NY (solo) 1962 Dwan Gallery...
Mixed Media
Paul Manes - Untitled Drawing II, Painting 2024
By Paul Manes
Located in Stamford, CT
Paul Manes was born May 4, 1948, in Austin, Texas. He began his professional career in New York City in the early 1980s. His art has been widely exhibited in America and Europe and h...
Canvas, Paint, Oil
$1,200
"Moment of Warmth Mixed Media abstract with textural reds, orange, blues, purples
By Nancy Eckels
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Exhibiting the bold colors and textures that her work is known for, "Moment of Warmth" is a beautiful abstract painting by Nancy Eckelson on a box canvas. Using sculptural texture ...
Acrylic, Other Medium
Borrowed Landscapes Study No. 205/The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA
By Nina Tichava
Located in Denver, CO
Nina Tichava is a pattern-based, abstract painter primarily focused on spatial relationships that emphasize the inherent surface quality, color, and visual variations in her work. Sh...
Paper, Acrylic, Postcard, Pen, Graphite
Going: Abstract Mixed Media on Wood Panel, Framed, 91.4x76.2 cm
Located in BARCELONA, ES
Stephen identifies the delicate texture and beauty of the natural oxidation process. Oftentimes a found object initiates his work: By incorporating an object directly, imprinting, or...
Mixed Media, Wood, Wood Panel
Equipoise ll
Located in East Hampton, NY
Mixed Media collage on Paper As Seen at Art On Paper 2024 at The Mannix Project East Hampton NY Pier 36 NYC Comes with white mat & black frame 24"X20" FRAMED. Purchase individually ...
Acrylic, Archival Paper
Ryan Cronin - Untitled II, Drawing 2006
By Ryan Cronin
Located in Stamford, CT
Untitled II Ryan Cronin Oil Pastels on Paper 30" x 22.5" When people look at his work Cronin wants them to feel an immediate impact, even if they’re not sure what hit them. The raw,...
Paper, Oil Pastel
$5,000Sale Price|20% Off
At Sea Between Fossils and Satellites: Abstract Mixed-Media Painting texture
Located in Quebec, Quebec
"At Sea Between Fossils and Satellites I1" is a textured mixed-media painting that explores the connection between the ancient and the celestial. Created with acrylic, latex, copper ...
Bronze, Copper
Cathexis #3 #1a
By Ant Pearce
Located in Brecon, Powys
Cotton sewn on paper
Cotton, Paper
"Our Way of Living 3" Abstract Marble Mosaic
Located in Chicago, IL
Monochromatic, ethereal and highly textured, the abstract compositions of Japanese mosaic artist Toyoharu Kii reflect a sophisticated approach to the technical art of mosaic making. ...
Marble
Ryan Cronin - Low Tide, Drawing 2006
By Ryan Cronin
Located in Stamford, CT
Low Tide Ryan Cronin Oil Pastels on Paper 30" x 22.5" When people look at his work Cronin wants them to feel an immediate impact, even if they’re not sure what hit them. The raw, al...
Paper, Oil Pastel
Meet Me Where You First Gave Me Flowers, Abstract Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
"This painting has traveled with me through six moves and four cities," shares artist Agata Kijanka. "It's a very slowly transforming piece that evolved over ...
Mixed Media
Three Colors, Abstract Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Artist Roman Antopolsky creates a contrasting abstract between three solid colors. Structures of red, blue, and brown take for...
Mixed Media
After Midnight, Abstract Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Artist Terri Bell presents an abstract arrangement of detailed geometric forms. She paints soothing colors and patterns atop a rich mahogany-colored background. Circles and squares dance inside a loose grid. "This piece reminds me of those nights when I stay out late after a great evening, and all of the colors of the city seem to settle in," shares Terri.
About the Artist
Artist Terri Bell constructs highly detailed geometric fields that dance to life with engaging colors and soft edges. As a young child, Terri always wanted to paint, draw, or play imaginative games. She entered college as an art major and received important mentorship from several teachers. Unfortunately, it was at this point that Terri’s art career was put on hold. "I had to make a couple of detours along the way, and ended up changing my major to political science," she says, "which led me to work in a high stress, high profile state government position." Terri’s creative pursuits were more limited but ever-present. "Art was the balance in my life and I never gave up my dream." Through hard work and determination, she has returned to her calling as a full-time career artist. When she’s not painting, Terri enjoys cooking, container gardening, and spending time with her husband and two Yorkies.
Words that describe this painting: abstract, geometric, squares, circles, dots, grid, detailed, ordered, metropolitan, city, patterns, mixed media, bird's eye view, perspective, Denver, abstract, mixed media artwork, green
Mixed Media
$5,600Sale Price|20% Off
"Gifts from Heaven" Abstract Mixed Media Painting 48 x 96" inch by Yoram Katz
By Yoram Katz
Located in Culver City, CA
"Gifts from Heaven" Abstract Mixed Media Painting 48 x 96" inch by Yoram Katz Medium: Oil, Acrylic and Enamel on Board Comes in frame Size framed: 50 x 98 in ABOUT THE ARTIST: Bor...
Enamel
Innerconnectedness, Abstract Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
A modern abstract with overlapping geometric sections uniquely delineated creating a connected framework. "I created this piece by designating sections and treating each one like a painting within a painting," explains artist Terri Bell...
Mixed Media
Loose Interpretation, Abstract Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Inspired by one of Agata's road trips, which took her past Lake Powell at a teasing distance. "Beautiful turquoise suggests piercin...
Mixed Media
Sonoran Sentinels, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
While climbing mountains in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, artist Crystal DiPietro couldn't help but appreciate the tall saguaro...
Mixed Media
$9,177
ABSTRACT Contemporary Artist French Rose Madone New Artwork Nature earth colors
By Rose Madone
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
At Escat Gallery, we are committed to maintaining the highest standards of trust and professionalism for our collectors. Every artwork in our collection comes with a Certificate of A...
Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media
Drifter 21
By Lizzie Scott
Located in Dallas, TX
Paint on muslin with mixed media
Muslin, Paint
$4,000Sale Price|20% Off
Screen 2023.10 (grid painting abstract wood contemporary nature optical)
Located in Quebec, Quebec
In Melisa’s optical and pulsating compositions, the natural world acts as blue-print while she explores the notion of the sublime through blur and precision. The artist develops an a...
Spray Paint, Wood Panel
ACOPLE II and Aguas Claras, Diptych. Mixed media Abstract painting on Canvas
By Alec Franco
Located in Miami Beach, FL
" The work resists framing in concepts, it overflows the contours and borders of the rational. It is through the presence of color, combined with an abstraction at times with express...
Canvas, Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Sincro and Untitled, Diptych. Mixed media Abstract painting on Canvas
By Alec Franco
Located in Miami Beach, FL
" The work resists framing in concepts, it overflows the contours and borders of the rational. It is through the presence of color, combined with an abstraction at times with express...
Canvas, Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Oil
Stepping Out of Line, Abstract Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Artist Terri Bell often works with defined grids in her paintings. In this creation, Terri allows square and organic spaces to float freely toward the bottom of the composition and outside of the grid lines. The result is an interconnected framework that is unified by linear patterns, textures, and related colors. Part of Terri's ongoing Geometria series.
About the Artist
Artist Terri Bell constructs highly detailed geometric fields that dance to life with engaging colors and soft edges. As a young child, Terri always wanted to paint, draw, or play imaginative games. She entered college as an art major and received important mentorship from several teachers. Unfortunately, it was at this point that Terri’s art career was put on hold. "I had to make a couple of detours along the way, and ended up changing my major to political science," she says, "which led me to work in a high stress, high profile state government position." Terri’s creative pursuits were more limited but ever-present. "Art was the balance in my life and I never gave up my dream." Through hard work and determination, she has returned to her calling as a full-time career artist. When she’s not painting, Terri enjoys cooking, container gardening, and spending time with her husband and two Yorkies.
Words that describe this painting: geometric, Geometria, abstract, organic, linear, lines, grids, dots, ordered, box, abstract, mixed media artwork
Stepping Out of Line...
Mixed Media
Untamed Ridge, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
In artist Crystal DiPietro's jeweled-toned impressionist piece, a craggy mountain ridge sits in view. She paints on location at the muddy southwestern mountai...
Mixed Media
Astronomo
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Ruben Poblano – Mexican (20th century ) Title: Astronomo Year: 1968 Medium: Mixed Media on canvas Canvas size: 31.5 x 47.5 inches. Framed size: ...
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
10th Avenue Mirage, Abstract Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Artist Terri Bell demonstrates a patterned abstract piece consisting of spheres enclosed in cubes. She envisions an ode to dreaming of simpler times living in...
Mixed Media
Patricia Zippin "Tillamook Flight 6 of 12" 1980s Abstract Painting
Located in Arp, TX
Patricia Zippin Tillamook Flight 6 of 12 1980s Mixed Media 30.5"x 22.5", unframed Signed in paint on bottom right and signed and titled on reverse in pen Patricia Jayne Zippin (1930...
Encaustic, Acrylic, Pencil
$5,000
Mångata X horizontal (sky blue grid wood patterns Brown yellow nature)
Located in Quebec, Quebec
Mangata X continues Melisa Taylor Metzger’s exploration of light, structure, and materiality through her signature fusion of pyrography and airbrushed pigment. The work evokes the el...
Spray Paint, Wood Panel
I Walk Alone to Be with You, Abstract Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Agata vividly remembers a quiet walk she took alone along the coast. "The beauty of that place," she recalls. "A feeling that I will never forget. The fog and...
Mixed Media
Mixed Media Collage Cut Painting Cecil Touchon Black White Assemblage Texas Art
Located in Surfside, FL
Cecil Touchon (1956-, Austin, Texas) FS3809ct16 Abstract Composition Framed ink and collage on heavy Aquarelle Arches paper Hand inscribed lower center (these were typically signed ...
Paint, Ink, Archival Paper
Grid Aesthetic: Blue as Delimiter, Abstract Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Part of artist Terri Bell's Geometria Grid series. This piece incorporates geometric shapes into organic arrangements. The painting's color palette emphasizes...
Mixed Media
Blue Abstract Painting, Acrylic and Ink on Canvas, Contemporary Art, 2025
By Taly Cohen
Located in Miami, FL
Blue Abstract Painting, Acrylic and Ink on Canvas, Contemporary Art, 2025 This work is a striking example of contemporary abstract expressionism, distinguished by its layered surfac...
Canvas, Ink, Acrylic
Atmosfera Turchese, II
Located in Atlanta, GA
"My passion for the vestiges of aged surfaces that inspires my painting has been influenced by my travels in Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Russia, and Sweden." --...
Paper, Mixed Media
North of Sante Fe
Located in East Hampton, NY
Mixed Media collage on Paper As Seen at Art On Paper 2024 at The Mannix Project East Hampton NY Pier 36 NYC Comes with white mat & black frame 24"X20" FRAMED. Purchase individually ...
Acrylic, Archival Paper
$11,900
"Morning Blender Triptych" abstract with textural oranges, black, and lavender
By Nancy Eckels
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
"Morning Blender Triptych" is a beautiful luminous abstract painting by Nancy Eckels. It exhibits the bold colors and textures that her work is known for. As the artist painted thi...
Acrylic, Other Medium
Mixed Media Coastal Seascape Painting by Eugene Healy 'Bar Beach'
By Eugene Healy
Located in White Plains, NY
Available at Madelyn Jordon Fine Art. 'Bar Beach' by Eugene Healy, 2025. Oil and mixed media on canvas, 36 x 36 in. / Frame: 36.5 x 36.5 in. This landscape painting features an abstr...
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
"Throwing Stones", Abstract, Eggs, Red, White, Green, Collage, Monotype
Located in Franklin, MA
Monica DeSalvo’s “Throwing Stones” is a diptych of two 4.25 x 6 inch collages on abstract acrylic monotypes. Green lettuce, tan and ivory eggs, and blurred fields of red, maroon, and...
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Archival Paper, Monotype
$590
Common Ground (No.9) An intimate and striking textural contemporary painting
Located in Hollister, CA
Contemporary abstract painting by Katherine Filice featuring ink, stucco, and wax on wood panel, framed and completed in 2026. Created as part of Filice's "Common Ground" series, thi...
Archival Ink, Wax, Wood Panel
Lake Effect VI
By Ryan Cobourn
Located in Dallas, TX
Artwork size: 20"h x 16"w
Paper, Mixed Media
Gli uccelli nel giardini di Pompei, I
Located in Atlanta, GA
"My passion for the vestiges of aged surfaces that inspires my painting has been influenced by my travels in Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Russia, and Sweden." --...
Mixed Media, Oil, Wood Panel
Gen #1 and #4, Diptych. Mixed media Abstract painting on Paper
By Alec Franco
Located in Miami Beach, FL
DNA is genetic information, hidden and encrypted in body fluids. Veiled data that we load, that we do not know and that someone knows how to decipher. Such specifications characteriz...
Chalk, Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Handmade Paper
Turquoise with Dots - Textural Abstract Geometric Colorful Oil Painting
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Petra Rös-Nickel’s original paintings merge playful forms, bright colors, and architectural compositions in oil and mixed media on canvas. Her contemporary artworks contain rich text...
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
"Rampage, " Mixed Media Mosaic
Located in Chicago, IL
Intricate, ethereal and highly textured, the abstract compositions of Japanese mosaic artist Toyoharu Kii reflect a sophisticated approach to the technica...
Marble