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
Paper, Glue, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Gold
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Oil, Spray Paint, Panel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Lacquer, India Ink, Watercolor, Pigment
1950s Abstract Mixed Media
Metal
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Textile, Epoxy Resin, Acrylic, Papier Mâché
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Encaustic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Brass
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Leather, Canvas, Mixed Media, Wax
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Oil, Board
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Acrylic, Laid Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Acrylic
1960s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Adhesive, Magazine Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Gold Leaf
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
1960s Abstract Mixed Media
Oil Pastel, Gouache, Archival Paper
1990s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
Early 2000s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Glaze, Oil Crayon, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Driftwood, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Wood Panel
Early 2000s Abstract Mixed Media
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Spray Paint
Late 20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Oil Pastel, Mixed Media
Late 20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Cotton, Plywood, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Textile, Canvas, Paper, Mixed Media, Oil
Artist Comments
Part of artist Patrick O'Boyle's Aerial Landscape series, the composition draws inspiration from aerial photographs he captured in his travels. Organic shapes ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Glitter, Ink, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Panel
1990s Abstract Mixed Media
Monoprint, Monotype
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Silver
Artist Comments
A soft, cloudlike background merges with a whimsical splatter of movement and comforting colors. The gold square anchors the scene, bridging muted grays and blu...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
A field of warm color contains veins of green energy weaving through the abstract landscape. Organic shapes create a playful, rhythmic composition. The fluid mo...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Epoxy Resin, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Gold Leaf
1990s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Epoxy Resin, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Plaster, Glaze, Acrylic
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Oil, Gouache
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Fiberboard
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Oil Crayon, Acrylic, Pencil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Lacquer, India Ink, Acrylic, Pigment
Early 2000s Abstract Mixed Media
Paint, Ink, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media