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.
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Oil
Mid-20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Canvas, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Metal, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Linen, Ink, Mixed Media, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Jute, Acrylic, Washi Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Glaze, Oil Crayon, Acrylic, Pencil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Paint, Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Board
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Encaustic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic, Rice Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Metal, Steel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Pastel, Spray Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Wood Panel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Charcoal, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Glitter, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Artist Comments
I have used grade one Braille as a form for recognizing what is unknowable and unseeable, until we feel it. As a way of connecting sight with feeling, intertwining the two. This piece is meant to be touched, explored, felt. Made in honor of Gerda Klein, after reading her autobiography of her experiences as a Holocaust survivor. In Braille it reads and then there was one, from whom came many. Found, reclaimed and resurrected- an abstract wood relief ;painting; in an assortment of soft and hard woods puzzled together within a salvaged antique window...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Spray Paint, Wood Panel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Paper, Acrylic, Gouache, Pencil, Color Pencil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Plastic, Mixed Media, Permanent Marker
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Gesso, Canvas, Acrylic, Engraving
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Plastic, Permanent Marker
Artist Comments
Soft transitions of tonal color create a cloud-like form in this modern abstract painting. Yellow and black provide contrast in the background, while a bold red...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
"This piece is like magnified images of the inner constellations of neurons, thought forms, and connections," shares artist Maya Malioutina. A minimalist mode...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Encaustic, Mulberry Paper
1990s Abstract Mixed Media
Thread, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Rag Paper, Screen
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Ceramic, Glaze, Mixed Media
Artist Comments
A yellow color field reveals tiny squares with glints of red, green, and natural wood. The bright and saturated palette evokes vivid colors on architecture unde...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Plastic, Mixed Media, Permanent Marker
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Glitter, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Platinum
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Lacquer, Pastel, Automotive Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Wood Panel, Mica
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Varnish, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Thread, Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Wood Panel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Gold Leaf
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Textile, Canvas, Linen, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Glaze, Oil Crayon, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Mixed Media, Oil, Magazine Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Plaster, Board, Pigment
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Lithograph, Screen
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Oil Pastel, Acrylic, Carbon Pencil, Color Pencil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Acrobats and circus performers with their lively gestures and colorful outfits fascinate artist Patrick O’Boyle. Through simple shapes, this painting depicts ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Plexiglass, Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Lacquer, Pastel, Automotive Paint, Acrylic