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
Resin, Panel, Digital Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Panel, Digital Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Panel, Digital Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Panel, Digital Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Panel, Digital Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Panel, Digital Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Panel, Digital Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Thread, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Handmade Paper
1960s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Adhesive, Magazine Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Rice Paper, Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Plaster
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Cotton, Acrylic, Archival Paper
Late 20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Canvas, Organic Material, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Acrylic, Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Rice Paper, Acrylic, Oil, Mixed Media, Canvas
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Steel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Epoxy Resin
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Spray Paint, Wood Panel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Handmade Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Acrylic
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Oil Pastel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Burlap, Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Drips and pours of various colors spread across a background of stained, watered-down blues. In this painting, artist Tim Engelhardt pays tribute to three of hi...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Glitter, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Silk, Thread, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Lacquer, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Digital
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Gesso, Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic
1990s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars
Artist Comments
A reclining figure takes shape through colorful collage papers. Layers of paint, text, and images flow in a random, free-form expression. Despite the energetic ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mirror, Film
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Glitter, Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Plaster
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic, Rice Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
Early 2000s Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Dye, Ink, Mixed Media, Permanent Marker
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Porcelain, Textile, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Textile, Epoxy Resin, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Canvas, Encaustic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Steel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Postcard, Pen, Graphite
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Postcard, Pen, Graphite
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Postcard, Pen, Graphite
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Postcard, Pen, Graphite
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media
Artist Comments
This mixed-media painting features a heart shape filled with a collage of words and letters. It symbolizes the courage and love required to give voice to our co...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Epoxy Resin, Plastic, Synthetic Resin, Acrylic, Pigment, Mesh