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
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Burlap, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Lacquer, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Muslin, Wood, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Paper, Acrylic
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Porcelain, Ink
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Drypoint, Etching, Aquatint, Screen
Early 2000s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Resin, Epoxy Resin, Acrylic Polymer, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Encaustic, Mulberry Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Charcoal, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Handmade Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Linen, Silk, Etching
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Silk, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Spray Paint
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Wood Panel, Paint
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Marble
Early 2000s Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Muslin, Wood, Cotton, Thread, Dye
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Archival Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
1990s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Magazine Paper, Pencil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Plaster, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Glitter
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Rice Paper, Canvas, Silk, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Leather, Linen
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Gold Leaf
Artist Comments
A blue orb and orange blossoms anchor this modern abstract composition, where angular geometric lines contrast with loose, twisting brushwork. In this piece, ar...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Wood, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Oil, Wood Panel, Graphite
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Spray Paint
Artist Comments
Artist Yamilet Sempe reflects that a flower doesn’t compete with the one beside it—it simply blooms. Through this piece, she celebrates the power of embraci...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Sandstone
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Spray Paint
1990s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Video, LED Light
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Oil Pastel, Oil, Graphite
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Linen, Resin, Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Oil, Graphite, Archival Paper