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.
"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
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
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
Momento la Fuori
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
Sounds of Serenity, Painting, Abstract, Blue, Acrylic Painting, Abstract Art
By Jill Morton
Located in Riverdale, NY
Sounds of Serenity is an abstract painting filled with blue, white and yellow by Australian artist, Jill Morton. It is 40 x 30, acrylic on canvas. It is filled with a range of colo...
Oil Pastel, Acrylic
$1,800
Tribute to Robert Motherwell - Expressionist Composition in Acrylic on Paper
Located in Soquel, CA
Tribute to Robert Motherwell - Expressionist Composition in Acrylic on Paper A bold abstract painting by California-based artist, Ricardo de Silva (American/Brazil, 20th C). Drawing...
Paper, Acrylic
Robert Motherwell - Pull Out All Flags, iconic etching & aquatint, SIgned 33/50
Located in New York, NY
Robert Motherwell Pull Out All Flags (Engberg, Banach 263), 1980 Aquatint and etching in colors, on German Etching paper, with full margins Hand-signed by artist, Pencil signed and n...
Etching, Aquatint
$9,625
Midsummer Night - abstract blue white beige painting and collage on panel
Located in New York, NY
Deborah T Colter is a contemporary abstract painter who lives on the Island of Martha’s Vineyard. Deborah graduated from the Rhode Island School o...
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Archival Paper
Lake Effect VI
By Ryan Cobourn
Located in Dallas, TX
Artwork size: 20"h x 16"w
Paper, Mixed Media
$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
$2,462Sale Price|50% Off
Patterns – Nordic Abstract Contemporary Painting Forest Green Spiritual Motifs
By EMMI IIDA 1
Located in Lahti, FI
PATTERNS 119cm x 195cm, Acrylic on Canvas (unstretched) “Patterns” is an immersive exploration of the intuitive connection between the natural and spiritual worlds. Rendered in deep...
Spray Paint, Acrylic, Pencil
$18,000
DYSF
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Chris Trueman has exhibited his work in numerous exhibitions in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC, Portland and internationally in Milan, Paris, Berlin, Beijing and Brisbane ...
Canvas, Acrylic
Dualidad I, Contemporary Art, Abstract Art, 21st Century
Located in Mexico City, MX
Dualidad I Beads on Wood Panel More than 10,000 beads Ready to hang 25 x 20 cm 2023 About the artist Colectivo Aurora is the new project of a plastic artist and a designer whose w...
Wood, Mixed Media
$4,900
"Ocean Spray" mixed media abstract with textural blues, metallic gold, and aquas
By Nancy Eckels
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
"Ocean Spray" is a beautiful luminous large abstract painting by Nancy Eckels. It exhibits the bold colors and textures that her work is known for, and fe...
Acrylic, Other Medium
$900
"The Sacred Geometry of Taurus" - Acrylic and Gold on Engraved Wood - 40x40cm
Located in Geneva, CH
The Sacred Geometry of Taurus Associated with the number 2 and Venus; representing love, beauty, harmony, and material pleasures. Art, aesthetics and sensuality. Inspired by ancest...
Gold Leaf
"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
At Sea Between Fossils and Satellites 15 (texture, organic, biophilic, sand)
Located in Quebec, Quebec
At Sea Between Fossils and Satellites 15 is a richly textured, mixed-media painting by Melisa Taylor Metzger from her decade-long series At Sea Between Fossils and Satellites (2015–2...
Acrylic Polymer, Found Objects, Oil, Acrylic
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
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
Natural Flow Series n15 and n16, Diptych. From the Natural Flow series
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Flow is the ability of liquids to continually move from one place to another. Also, It means accepting each situation as it is. The movement of the liquid comes from life, it is natu...
Canvas, Ink
In Residence
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
"Watery Weather" Mixed Media abstract with textural blues, teal, and white
By Nancy Eckels
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
"Watery Weather" is a beautiful abstract painting by Nancy Eckels. It exhibits the bold colors and textures that her work is known for. Using sculptural texture with beautiful ocean...
Acrylic, Other Medium
Large Mod Abstract Expressionist Modernist Edward Avedisian Color Field Painting
Located in Surfside, FL
Edward Avedisian (American, 1936-2007) Abstract Large Painting Acrylic on panel heavily textured with a 3D effect. Dimensions: 48"h x 75"w Circa late 1970s, early 1980s Provenance: ...
Acrylic, Wood Panel
Russell Jacques Stainless Steel Bronze Abstract Sculpture Kansas City
By Russell Jacques
Located in Denver, CO
Kansas City is a commanding large-scale metal sculpture by American artist Russell Jacques. Crafted from stainless steel and bronze, this abstract comp...
Bronze, Stainless Steel, Metal
$2,200
Indian Contemporary Art by Sumit Mehndiratta - Nailed it Series No. 172
Located in Paris, IDF
Textiles and metal on wooden panel Sumit Mehndiratta is an Indian artist born in 1986 who lives & works in New Delhi, India. He has pursued Master of Science in International Fashio...
Metal
"Morning Bay" - Mixed Media Monochromatic Abstract Landscape on Handmade Paper
Located in Soquel, CA
Mixed media abstracted landscape composition on handmade paper of a town on the edge of a lake, in monochromatic orange tones with white accents, by Grace Eichholz (American, b. 1927...
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Gouache, Handmade Paper
$7,200
Blue 2
By Liz Barber
Located in Napa, CA
Liz Barber pursued painting while obtaining her degree from the Massachusetts College of Art and Moore College of Art. She currently resides in Marietta, Georgia. Barber’s paintings ...
Ink, Acrylic, Watercolor, Graphite
Summer Rain 14
By Liz Barber
Located in Napa, CA
Liz Barber pursued painting while obtaining her degree from the Massachusetts College of Art and Moore College of Art. She currently resides in Marietta, Georgia. Barber’s paintings ...
Paint, Ink, Acrylic, Graphite
$22,000
“Roses and Flowers” abstract expressionist oil painting organic flora assemblage
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
A textural oil painting by Darius Yektai (b. 1973 / Southampton, NY) made up of a motley of flowers, from Roses, to Hydrangeas, to Babys Breath and more. Affixed to an oil painting w...
Resin, Found Objects, Oil, Organic Material, Tape, Foam Board
$920Sale Price|20% Off
"Bologna", Contemporary Blue Abstract with Found Object Collage on Wood
Located in Soquel, CA
Contemporary abstract expressionist mixed media piece featuring found object collage layered with blue, black and white paint by Bay Area artist M...
Wood, Paper, Oil
$1,495
Contemporary Yellow, Brown, and Tan Geometric Hard-Edge Abstract Painting
Located in Houston, TX
Geometric abstract painting by contemporary artist Stephanie Beukers. The work features layers of hard-edged shapes in yellow, brown, black, and tan set against a light background. S...
Canvas, Acrylic
$6,900
"Cool Day, Warm Breeze" large abstract with textural blues, orange, and lavender
By Nancy Eckels
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
"Cool Day, Warm Breeze" is a beautiful luminous abstract painting by Nancy Eckels. It exhibits the bold colors and textures that her work is known for. Using sculptural texture wit...
Acrylic, Other Medium
$813
The Cubist - Contemporary Art, Collage, Green, Bordeaux, Funny, 21st Century
Located in Baden-Baden, DE
The Cubist, 2019 collage on paper 11 13/16 H x 15 3/4 W in. 30 H x 40 W cm The artist’s collages describe a series of characters composed of different materials – cardboards, textil...
Paper, Mixed Media
$3,200Sale Price|20% Off
Screen 2023.3 (grid painting abstract wood contemporary vibrant colors 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
"Eb & Flo, " Mixed Media Collage
Located in Chicago, IL
Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his...
Fabric, Silk, Wood
Miles Davis Plays Cool Jazz
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Miles Davis Plays Cool Jazz Collage, c. 1970 Unsigned Titled by the artist lower left margin (see photo) Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist by his friend and patron Joseph...
Magazine Paper
Some Rain - Framed, Layered Abstract Colorfield Painting
By Greet Helsen
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Belgian artist Greet Helsen masterfully layers acrylic paint with the effervescent transparency of watercolors in her large mixed-media abstract paintings. Reminiscent of abstract ex...
Canvas, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic
$7,500
White Burst 2 - 3D organic feel contemporary abstract mural sculpture in foam
Located in New York, NY
Erin Vincent is a Toronto based-artist whose work draws on a variety of repetitive and labor intensive processes and materials. Things and common objects have always fascinated Vinc...
Resin, Foam, Acrylic, Wood Panel, Archival Paper
"Soft Swirl" Vibrant Hand Embroidery and Color Pencil on Paper
By Kelly Kozma
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This fibers, drawing, and sculptural work titled "Soft Swirl" is an original artwork by Kelly Kozma made of hand-embroidery, colored pencil, and acrylic paint on paper. The artist us...
Fabric, Thread, Found Objects
Carbon Gold
Located in Nottingham, GB
The artist works on an aluminium sheet. First an acid etch primer. He then uses a heavy water based paint. Will add layers after layer of paint. Each layer dried under light and heat...
Spray Paint
Vermillion
Located in Napa, CA
René Romero Schuler is an American painter and sculptor who creates powerful images that speak to the complexities of the human condition and the spirit that connects all human being...
Oil
Abstract Composition - Mixed Media by Leo Guida - 1970s
By Leo Guida
Located in Roma, IT
Abstract composition is an artwork realized byLeo Guida, in 1970s. Mixed media painting. 153 x 77 cm; framed. Good conditions!
Mixed Media
$4,960Sale Price|20% Off
Desert Bloom, geometric abstract painting, mid-century modern earth tone palette
Located in Dallas, TX
"Desert Bloom" is a striking modern geometric abstract painting, with an earth tone mid-century modern contemporary palette. It is painted directly onto panel, with a custom built wooden substrate. The sides show beautifully smoothed wood. Kazaan Viveiros has a background in architecture studies as well as fine art, and this shows in her clean and contemporary works. Artist Kazaan Viveiros earned a BA with distinction from the University of Virginia in Studio Art and Religious Studies, and an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. She has since exhibited work in solo and group exhibitions in the U.S. and Europe, including solo shows in New York, San Francisco, Berkeley, Scottsdale, AZ, Richmond, VA, and Savannah, GA. In 2003, curator Raffaella Guidobono gave Viveiros a show at TAD Concept Store in Rome. Viveiros’s paintings have been collected by a wide array of corporations, including eBay and Capital One Bank, as well as by individuals such as WalMart’s Rob Walton and novelist Danielle Steel. Her large diptych, The Whale, was purchased by Banner Children’s Hospital and currently hangs in their radiology ward. Summit Medical Group MD Anderson Cancer Center in New Jersey has many of her works in their collection. In addition, five of Viveiros’s paintings were purchased by the Art in Embassies Program and are permanently installed in the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She was a 2011 Bethesda Painting Awards semi-finalist, was twice chosen as a visiting artist at the Torpedo Factory Art...
Paint, Acrylic, Wood Panel
$795
154 Squares V.4 - Modern Colorful Abstract Geometric Squares Acrylic Painting
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Brandon Neher is a California artist whose original paintings embody a profound exploration of space, structure, and balance, infused with a touch of modern minimalism. Drawing inspi...
Wood, Mixed Media, Acrylic
"Our Way of Living 2" 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
Hold to the Light, Abstract Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
In this abstract painting, artist Yamilet Sempe conveys a state of inner transition, where form becomes uncertain and stability dissolves. At this threshold, li...
Mixed Media
Untitled, Abstract Minimalist Collage by Marilyn Whittmore
By Marilyn Whittmore
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Marilyn Whittmore Title: Untitled Year: 1964 Medium: Collage, signed l.c. and verso Size: 14 x 12 inches
Mixed Media
"Friendship Garden" by L. A. Spowart - Vibrant and Pastel Tone Large Abstract
Located in Carmel, CA
Lesley Anne Spowart (American, born 1957) "Friendship Garden" 2021 Acrylic Paint, Paper, Mixed Media, Canvas The artist signed the back of the painting. Friendship Garden by Lesley ...
Canvas, Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars
Blue Petals 7
By Liz Barber
Located in Napa, CA
Liz Barber pursued painting while obtaining her degree from the Massachusetts College of Art and Moore College of Art. She currently resides in Marietta, Georgia. Barber’s paintings ...
Paint, Ink, Acrylic, Watercolor, Graphite
$6,500
Mixed Media Abstract Trompe L'oeil Collage Oil Painting Cecil Touchon Texas Art
Located in Surfside, FL
Cecil Touchon (1956-, Austin, Texas) 1-C / PDP164CT95 Abstract Composition Oil, collage on canvas Hand signed and inscribed verso Dimensions: 24 x 22 in. Cecil Touchon (born 1956, ...
Paint, Archival Paper, Canvas
The Lapis IV, 1954 Mixed Media by Irene Rice Pereira
Located in Long Island City, NY
The Lapis IV Irene Rice Pereira, American (1902-1971) 1954 Watercolor and Ink on Paper, signed, dated and titled Size: 12 x 15 in. (30.48 x 38.1 cm) Frame Size: 13.75 x 16.75 inches
Ink, Watercolor
"Soothing" Mixed Media abstract with textural blues, teal, aqua and gray
By Nancy Eckels
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
"Soothing" is a beautiful large and luminous abstract painting by Nancy Eckels. It exhibits the bold colors and textures that her work is known for. Using sculptural texture with be...
Acrylic, Other Medium
"Ikebana, " Mixed Media Kite
Located in Chicago, IL
Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his travels. His ongoing series of large-scale kites bridge the gap between flat art and sculpture, each crafted of split bamboo frames covered with stretched muslin and a collage of vintage ephemera – including kimonos, obis, paintings, scrolls, drawings, metal leaf, bleeding paper, book pages, or anything with a story to tell. In this bamboo kite entitled “Ikebana,” Thompson beautifully layers darkly saturated fragments atop pages of found text. A repurposed calligraphy scroll panels the left side, brushed with black ink with full flower blossoms and leafy foliage, while delicate pine branches grow upwards from the bottom. Vintage Japanese block prints...
Fabric, Silk, Wood
Austria Northern B
Located in Dallas, TX
etched steel
Steel
The Red Cloth 91 - Ink Drawing Red Dress Dancer Figurative Abstract Painting
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Bettina Mauel expresses dynamism and sensuality in her paintings: “I paint what I experience,” she articulates. “This includes landscapes, flowers, and people in motion, capturing th...
Linen, Ink, Mixed Media
The Violet Dress 9
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Bettina Mauel expresses dynamism and sensuality in her paintings: “I paint what I experience,” she articulates. “This includes landscapes, flowers, and people in motion, capturing th...
Linen, Ink, Mixed Media, Paper
Untitled, Modern Mixed Media, 1954, Abstract Expressionism
By Paul Shimon
Located in Surfside, FL
American artist and composer, a pioneer in abstract Judaica; was influenced by his Sephardic roots and leaves a great collection of work in private collections worldwide. He died in ...
Mixed Media
Abstract Composition, Gouache and Watercolor by Stan Brodsky
By Stan Brodsky
Located in Long Island City, NY
Abstract Composition Stan Brodsky American (1925–2019) Gouache and Watercolor on Paper Size: 17 x 14.5 in. (43.18 x 36.83 cm) Frame Size: 23 x 20.25 inches
Watercolor, Gouache