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
Wood, Spray Paint, Vinyl
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Panel
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Canvas, Mixed Media
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Silver
Late 20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Found Objects, Black and White
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Metal
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Paint
Early 2000s Abstract Mixed Media
Alabaster, Sandstone
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Varnish, Encaustic, Acrylic, Mixed Media, Pencil, Graphite
Artist Comments
"This piece is about the universal feeling of comfort to sing lullabies and memories of childhood," shares artist Tomo Mori. "I make tiles with fabrics, then ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Chalk, Oil Pastel, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Silk, Sumi Ink, Pigment, Archival Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Ink, Oil, Graphite, Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Epoxy Resin, Wood
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Epoxy Resin, Wood
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Epoxy Resin, Wood
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Epoxy Resin, Wood
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Ink, Oil, Spray Paint, Graphite, Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Ink, Oil, Spray Paint, Graphite, Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Ink, Oil, Graphite, Pigment, Spray Paint
Artist Comments
Artist Keith Thomson depicts a lone man, sitting with his legs crossed as he rides the metro. The composition may depict Hensojutsu, a ninja martial artist wh...
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
Paper, Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Artist Joey Korom utilizes different media to create this compelling abstract collage. Joey carefully layers his materials with mindfulness of proportions, mathematics, and with adept handling of colors and textures. He used five types of cardboard, paper, fabric, sandpaper, the inclusion of antique sheet music...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Marble
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Silk, Sumi Ink, Pigment, Archival Pigment
1960s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Ink, Intaglio
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Oil Pastel, Wax, Encaustic, Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Panel, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
1960s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Ink, Intaglio
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Sandstone
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Porcelain
Artist Comments
Artist Nava Lundy pictures an impressionist display of a tranquil waterlily pond. "The heart is believed to connect the physical and the spiritual world and p...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Rag Paper, Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Gold Leaf
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Ink
Artist Comments
Fields of color map out artist Terri Bell's colorful abstract piece. The composition combines grid-like structures and segments contrasting with organic shape...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Other Medium
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paste, Ink, Acrylic
Late 20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Paper
1950s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache, Archival Paper
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Handmade Paper
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Foil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Photographic Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Birch, Oil Pastel, Archival Ink, Spray Paint, Acrylic, Panel