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
Canvas, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
1990s Abstract Mixed Media
Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Paper, Pastel, Acrylic, Pencil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Stone
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Screen
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Plexiglass, Polymer, Digital
20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Paint, Paper, Mixed Media
1990s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Burlap, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Burlap, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Canvas, Archival Paper
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Textile, Oil, Acrylic, Pencil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Other Medium
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Oil Pastel, House Paint, Acrylic, Carbon Pencil, Color Pencil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
1990s Abstract Mixed Media
Mulberry Paper
20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Gold Leaf
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, Pencil, Color Pencil, Graphite, G...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Board
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mirror, Epoxy Resin, Plexiglass, Wood, Paper, LED Light, Acrylic, Mica
Late 20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Spray Paint, Acrylic, Permanent Marker
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Spray Paint, Acrylic, Permanent Marker
Early 2000s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Paper, Acrylic
Early 2000s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil, Laid Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Stainless Steel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Early 2000s Abstract Mixed Media
Laid Paper, Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Spray Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Gouache, Permanent Marker
Artist Comments
Artist Ian Hargrove presents bold and bright primary colors in an abstract diptych. Soft figures in blush, scarlet, and ochre "spi...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Lithograph
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Plywood, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Artist Ian Hargrove presents a striking association of cerulean and turquoise with accents of violet and orange in a compelling ab...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mirror, Epoxy Resin, Plexiglass, Wood, Paper, LED Light, Acrylic, Mica
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mirror, Epoxy Resin, Plexiglass, Wood, Paper, LED Light, Acrylic, Mica
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Spray Paint
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Spray Paint, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Jute, Acrylic, Washi Paper