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
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Charcoal, Crayon, Acrylic, Graphite
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Clay, Polymer
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Pencil, Paper, Acrylic, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Archival Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Wood Panel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Wood Panel, Resin
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Stone, Sandstone
Artist Comments
Artist Terri Bell creates an abstract composition divided into two patterns. The upper field shows a grid of tiny circles in softly nuanced colors, while below,...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Oil Pastel, Acrylic, Carbon Pencil, Color Pencil, House Paint
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Powder Coating, Cotton Canvas, Oil, Pigment
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Board
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Carbon Pencil, House Paint
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Permanent Marker, Mixed Media, Spray Paint, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Gold Leaf
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wool
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
1960s Abstract Mixed Media
Lithograph, Screen
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mirror, Film
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Charcoal, Crayon, Acrylic, Graphite
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Spray Paint, Acrylic, Permanent Marker
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Spray Paint, Acrylic, Permanent Marker
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Spray Paint, Acrylic, Permanent Marker
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Varnish, Oil Pastel, Archival Ink, Oil, Acrylic, Archival Paper, Graphite
1960s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Wood, Tempera
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Watercolor, Pigment
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Ceramic, Mixed Media, Glaze
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wool
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Spray Paint, Acrylic, Permanent Marker
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Burlap, Cotton Canvas
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
1960s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Wood Panel
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Bronze
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Artist Yamilet Sempe presents a dragonfly in an abstract body of water. She regards the winged insect as a totem symbol of life. "In almost the whole world it s...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Early 2000s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil, Laid Paper