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.
Artist Comments
Urban shadows and jumbled street scenes inspire this painting, capturing the energy of Dearborn Street in Chicago’s Loop. With a limited color palette, dark...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Textile, Canvas, Paper, Mixed Media, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Oil, Wood Panel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Acrylic, Fabric, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Wax, Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Oil, Panel, Latex
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Lacquer, India Ink, Acrylic, Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Oil Pastel, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Paper, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Graphite
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Glaze, Oil Crayon, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Blue geometric shapes rise against a soft yellow background, depicting a colorful urban sunset in December. Artist Cynthia Ligeros captures the essence of the...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache, Permanent Marker
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Archival Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Oil, Wood
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Other Medium
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Gold Leaf
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Glue, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Archival Paper, Rag Paper
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Graphite, Pencil, Acrylic, Encaustic, Varnish
Artist Comments
Botanical elements form a bright and colorful mosaic against a teal background. A sense of rhythmic flow and joyful energy exudes from the composition. Artist...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Encaustic, Panel, Digital, Monotype
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Other Medium
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Marble
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Textile, Canvas, Paper, Mixed Media, Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Panel
Early 2000s Abstract Mixed Media
Cotton, Fabric
Artist Comments
Artist Terri Bell often works with defined grids in her paintings. In this creation, Terri allows square and organic spaces to float freely toward the bottom of the composition and outside of the grid lines. The result is an interconnected framework that is unified by linear patterns, textures, and related colors. Part of Terri's ongoing Geometria series.
About the Artist
Artist Terri Bell constructs highly detailed geometric fields that dance to life with engaging colors and soft edges. As a young child, Terri always wanted to paint, draw, or play imaginative games. She entered college as an art major and received important mentorship from several teachers. Unfortunately, it was at this point that Terri’s art career was put on hold. "I had to make a couple of detours along the way, and ended up changing my major to political science," she says, "which led me to work in a high stress, high profile state government position." Terri’s creative pursuits were more limited but ever-present. "Art was the balance in my life and I never gave up my dream." Through hard work and determination, she has returned to her calling as a full-time career artist. When she’s not painting, Terri enjoys cooking, container gardening, and spending time with her husband and two Yorkies.
Words that describe this painting: geometric, Geometria, abstract, organic, linear, lines, grids, dots, ordered, box, abstract, mixed media artwork
Stepping Out of Line...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Artist Terri Bell executes abstract sound waves into uniform horizontal lines. Each pattern stream sets the background apart in mesmerizing brown and beige sp...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Artist Margriet Hogue presents a collaged abstract piece with a gentle pastel palette. Distressed papers constitute the lively canvas. Enigmatic patterns in i...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Two moon-like orbs hover above an abstract landscape, symbolizing the duality of light and darkness as well as truth and illusion. Warm oranges blend with coo...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Ink, Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Gold Leaf
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Canvas, Spray Paint
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Cotton, Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Cardboard, Pencil, Color Pencil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Plaster
Late 20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Paper
Artist Comments
A continuation of artist Terri Bell's Geometria Grid series, this piece incorporates geometric shapes into organic arrangements. The painting's complex color ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
1940s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Panel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Early 2000s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media