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
Gold Leaf
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Thread, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Spray Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Marble
Late 20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paint, Paper, Wood Panel, Digital
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Encaustic, Acrylic, Pencil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Ink, Permanent Marker, Pencil, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Giclée
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Ink, Lithograph, Tissue Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media, Watercolor
Late 20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Metal
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Oil Pastel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Plaster
20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Encaustic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Encaustic
Mid-20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Organic Material, Acrylic, Board
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Gold Leaf
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Metal
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wool, Cotton, Wood
Artist Comments
Artist Fernando Garcia illustrates an abstract landscape symbolic of the strength of mother nature. "You can feel the heat just by looking at the painting," s...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paint, Paper, Conté, Charcoal, India Ink, Acrylic, Tempera, Watercolor, ...
20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Paper, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Thread, Gouache, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Marble
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Gold Leaf
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Encaustic, Mulberry Paper
Artist Comments
Maya Malioutina's ongoing series "Lighter" is inspired by Rumi's quote: "The wound is where the light enters you." Maya explains, "Not just our wounds, all our cracks and scratches - the sum of our life experiences, are what makes each one of us unique, whole and beautiful and serve, simultaneously, as an entrance through which the light enters us and exits - through which we are able to shine the light that we carry inside us outward."
About the Artist
Maya’s abstract mixed-media artworks are inspired by urban imperfections–cracks in sidewalks, peeling paint, rusted metal. Influenced by the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, Maya embraces the aesthetic flaws of city life, translating daily discoveries into heavily layered and textured paintings. “Some works have close to fifty layers,” she mentions. “I like to layer paint and media slowly, a little at a time.” Maya employs a neutral palette and generous applications of metallic leaf to create meditative yet sumptuous artworks, quietly enticing the viewer.
Words that describe this painting: abstract, modern, gold leaf, metallic, abstract, non-representational, mixed media artwork, grey
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Lacquer, India Ink, Acrylic, Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Oil, Spray Paint, Panel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Watercolor, Mixed Media
1990s Abstract Mixed Media
Archival Paper, Acrylic, Pencil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Archival Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Plaster
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Other Medium
Late 20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Lacquer, India Ink, Watercolor, Pigment
Early 2000s Abstract Mixed Media
Ceramic, Porcelain, Mixed Media, Screen
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Metal
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Watercolor, Mixed Media
1990s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Archival Paper, Pencil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic Polymer, Found Objects, Acrylic, Oil