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
Spray Paint, Wood Panel, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Acrylic
20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Crayon, Ink, Acrylic, Tissue Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Clay, Polymer
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Plywood, Spray Paint
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Wood Panel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Spray Paint, Wood Panel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Pastel, Ink, Watercolor, Pen
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Spray Paint, Wood Panel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Varnish, Giclée
1990s Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Textile, Tapestry, Wool, Thread
1940s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Crayon, Pencil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Oil, Board
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Plastic, PVC, Wood, Paint
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Varnish, Giclée
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Silk, Wood
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic
Late 20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Ink, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Spray Paint, Acrylic
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Spray Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Charcoal, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic
Late 20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Monotype
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Paint, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Chalk, Oil Pastel, Acrylic, Carbon Pencil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Wax Crayon, Sumi Ink, Archival Paper, Graphite
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Foil
Artist Comments
This layered mixed-media abstract combines hand-printed and exotic papers, monoprints, travel photos, and materials gathered from everyday life. Red accents con...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Hand-printed papers, monoprints, and materials gathered from daily life blend in this mixed-media abstract. Bold black shapes and lines contrast with the warmth...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Marble
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Encaustic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Steel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Textile, Cotton
1910s Abstract Mixed Media
Watercolor, Gouache
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Metal, Steel
20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Cord, Acrylic, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Photographic Film, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Spray Paint
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wire
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Resin, Ink, Acrylic
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Charcoal, Acrylic, Carbon Pencil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Late 20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Ink, Acrylic
Artist Comments
This detailed abstract features organic shapes arranged in a loosely defined grid. Dark charcoal sections ground delicate patterning throughout, creating a me...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Glitter, Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic Polymer
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Spray Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Oil Crayon, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Plastic, Mixed Media, Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Encaustic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Oil, Canvas, Paper, Glue, Newsprint, Stretcher Bars
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
India Ink, Acrylic, Monoprint





