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Abstract More Art

ABSTRACT STYLE

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.

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Style: Abstract
Spring in the Mountains, Tree Blossom, Oil Painting
Spring in the Mountains, Tree Blossom, Oil Painting

Spring in the Mountains, Tree Blossom, Oil Painting

By Suren Nersisyan

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"Soft colors, beautiful mild atmosphere, and perspective indicate the mood and energy of the spring," says artist Suren Nersisyan. A painterly Colorado landsc...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Oil

Purified, Oil Painting
Purified, Oil Painting

Purified, Oil Painting

By Miranda Gamel

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
In this fantastical jungle scene, artist Miranda Gamel uses tigers as a symbol of strength and leadership. "Placing the tigers in the fire is meant to bring c...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Oil

Restful Dreaming, Oil Painting
Restful Dreaming, Oil Painting

Restful Dreaming, Oil Painting

By Gary Leonard

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"This peaceful composition was inspired by the lush green colors of a summer day in the forest, with the softening effect of light rain and the sun finding it...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Oil

Siren I, Oil Painting
Siren I, Oil Painting

Siren I, Oil Painting

By Ryan Pickart

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A modernist portrait combining a realistic face and an abstract figure. Artist Ryan Pickart uses bold linework to explore how the ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Oil

Fir, Oil Painting
Fir, Oil Painting

Fir, Oil Painting

By Teresa Smith

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
This painting is part of an ongoing series depicting the nature around Teresa Smith's home. Her main considerations as she works are color and shape. "I am p...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Oil

Alana with Fan, Oil Painting
Alana with Fan, Oil Painting

Alana with Fan, Oil Painting

By Sherri Aldawood

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Artist Sherri Aldawood posed her model, Alana, in her backyard garden on a warm summer day. She positioned in her the shade of dense green plants and glowing ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Oil

Early Evening in Los Angeles, a View from Hollywood
Early Evening in Los Angeles, a View from Hollywood

Early Evening in Los Angeles, a View from Hollywood

By Suren Nersisyan

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
This painting is part of Suren Nersisyan's series of California landscapes focusing on the nature and stunning light around Los Angeles. He draws inspiration from the residential streets, parks and gardens that dot the vast city. Of this piece, Suren says Just before dusk, the soft light from the sun and the beautiful colors of vintage buildings...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Oil

Fall Afternoon, Oil Painting
Fall Afternoon, Oil Painting

Fall Afternoon, Oil Painting

By Nancy Merkle

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Afternoon shadows stretch across the forest floor, casting deep greens against the golden yellow, orange and umber autumn landscape. Part of Nancy's signature...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Oil

The Phone Call, Oil Painting
The Phone Call, Oil Painting

The Phone Call, Oil Painting

By Faye Vander Veer

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"It's all about the subject and the light," says artist Faye Vander Veer, when asked about her inspiration for this painting. "I saw this young girl talking on the phone while I was doing some sketching at a local coffeeshop. The light was the first thing that caught my eye, then I did a few sketches to design the composition. I kept wondering about her. I never saw her face, but it is so interesting to me how our lives can change in an instant all because of one phone call...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Oil

Ottawa Valley Farm, Oil Painting
Ottawa Valley Farm, Oil Painting

Ottawa Valley Farm, Oil Painting

By Doug Cosbie

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"The Ottawa Valley is the valley of the Ottawa River that divides Eastern Ontario from Western Quebec," explains artist Doug Cosbie...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Oil

Birch Tree
Birch Tree

Birch Tree

By Naoko Tadotsu

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
I love tall birch trees, especially when their big leaves swing and shine under the late evening light. This painting is on gallery...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Oil

Pacific Ocean, Rocks, Oil Painting
Pacific Ocean, Rocks, Oil Painting

Pacific Ocean, Rocks, Oil Painting

By Suren Nersisyan

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Artist Suren Nersisyan painted this impressionist coastal scene en plein on the beach in Malibu, California. He says his focus was on the color and texture of...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Oil

Breakthrough, Abstract Oil Painting
Breakthrough, Abstract Oil Painting

Breakthrough, Abstract Oil Painting

By Shyun Song

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Artist Shyun Song explains of her clean, minimalist oil paintings, "As an intense observer, I am interested in mythology and psychology. Whenever I come acros...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Oil

Cabins by the Lake, Oil Painting
Cabins by the Lake, Oil Painting

Cabins by the Lake, Oil Painting

By James Hartman

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Artist James Hartman says this tranquil landscape was inspired by a stay at these cabins at the edge of Clear Lake in northern California. While there, he com...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Oil

My Real Passion, Oil Painting
My Real Passion, Oil Painting

My Real Passion, Oil Painting

By Andres Lopez 1

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A man casts off from a dock in morning sunshine, his reflection softly distorted in the lapping water below. "The fisherman prefers catching fish early in the...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Oil

I Want to Tell You, Oil Painting
I Want to Tell You, Oil Painting

I Want to Tell You, Oil Painting

By Pamela Blaies

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
In this painting, Pamela used a technique known as Contre-jour, where she backlit the figure. The strong light behind the young man creates a nice contrast be...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Oil

Geisha in Training, Oil Painting
Geisha in Training, Oil Painting

Geisha in Training, Oil Painting

By Mary Pratt

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A young maiko - a geisha in training - strolls in an abstract landscape, her delicate face decorated in traditional makeup. The organic patterning surrounding...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Oil

Ichtios - XX Century, Contemporary Abstract Watercolor Painting, Bright Colors
Ichtios - XX Century, Contemporary Abstract Watercolor Painting, Bright Colors

Ichtios - XX Century, Contemporary Abstract Watercolor Painting, Bright Colors

By Wojciech Sadley

Located in Warsaw, PL

WOJCIECH SADLEY (born in 1932) Painter, graphic and fabric artist. He studied at the Music Academy in Lublin, then at the Academy Of Fine Arts in Warsaw (where he works as a profess...

Category

Early 2000s Abstract More Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Reflection 2
Reflection 2

Reflection 2

By Robin Okun

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A live model was the inspiration for this painting. Feeling moved by her pose, I started with a basic line drawing using charcoal. I...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Acrylic

Morning at the Point
Morning at the Point

Morning at the Point

By Valerie Berkely

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Valerie Berkely looks for stories in her travels as inspiration for her abstracted landscapes. She says of this calm scene, Just offshore there lies a slip of land along the lake known as The Point...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Acrylic

Mountain Interval
Mountain Interval

Mountain Interval

By Crystal DiPietro

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
I was inspired to create this piece after spending several days in the Henry Mountains in Utah. It was monsoon season and after some storms, the clouds were c...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Oil

Tide Coming In, Oil Painting
Tide Coming In, Oil Painting

Tide Coming In, Oil Painting

By Teresa Smith

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A view of the tide coming in near the artist's home. "When the tide is out, there is a lot more beach and a lot less water," Teresa says. "A calm painting wit...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Oil

As a Dream
As a Dream

As a Dream

By Tatiana Iliina

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
This is an original landscape painting created with a palette knife inspired by Bliss Carmen.

About the Artist
Russian-born Tatiana Iliina lives in Montreal and has sold paintings to collectors all over the world. She works with both abstract and representational compositions, with many pieces falling somewhere in between. Some of Tatiana’s paintings could be interpreted as a landscape or a cityscape, or a non-representational articulation of color, giving the viewer the opportunity to make independent decisions about the work. Her long brushstrokes and painterly style are created using a palette knife, resulting in richly textured canvases. Working in a range of colors from muted grays to bold blues, vibrant purples, and glowing oranges, Tatiana’s portfolio reflects an array of moods while maintaining a focus on her iconic style.

As a Dream...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Acrylic

Garden with Oast Houses
Garden with Oast Houses

Garden with Oast Houses

By Christo Sharpe

Located in Deddington, GB

Christo Sharpe has always loved gardens especially when they’re considered the best. ‘Garden with Oast Houses’ uses Great Dixter as the basis for a colour...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Ghost River Sentinels
Ghost River Sentinels

Ghost River Sentinels

By Elizabeth Garat

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
This is an impressionistic painting of light filtering in through cypress trees in a river. The overall hues in the painting are cool blues and greyed violets...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Oil

The Herd
The Herd

The Herd

By Shao Yuan Zhang

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
This painting was inspired by the idea that we are shaped by outside forces, but remain unchanged, we persist in the face of adversity. It is what makes us human. My energetic oil paintings of stallions explore and illustrate movement through nature. This work represents an immigrant journey or strength and perseverance. I incorporate both contemporary (watercolor) and traditional (ink calligraphy) painting styles into this series.

About the Artist
Art has been with Shao Yuan Zhang for the majority of his extraordinary, and at times difficult, life journey. Raised in communist China...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Oil

In the Country
In the Country

In the Country

By Nancy Merkle

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
This landscape painting focuses on a country farmhouse on the edge of a plowed field. Lush green foliage extends into the background and warm and cool crop li...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Acrylic

Ben Nicholson signed mixed media collage 'Ronco', 1979
Ben Nicholson signed mixed media collage 'Ronco', 1979

Ben Nicholson signed mixed media collage 'Ronco', 1979

By Ben Nicholson

Located in Petworth, West Sussex

A rare and signed Ben Nicholson original work from 1979. Ben Nicholson (British, 1894 – 1982) Ronco, 1979 signed and inscribed and dated ‘Ronco 1979 Nicholson’ (on the reverse) mixe...

Category

20th Century Abstract More Art

Materials

Mixed Media

Spring Blossom
Spring Blossom

Spring Blossom

By Suren Nersisyan

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Beautiful spring blossom in a rural area. Lilac and apple trees are highlighted under the light of the spring sun. I used thick ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art

Materials

Oil

Beneath the Sky, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Beneath the Sky, Painting, Oil on Canvas

Beneath the Sky, Painting, Oil on Canvas

By Darlene Winfield

Located in Yardley, PA

When we look at the sky, it gives us a sense of relief. Then we look at what is around us, it is what is beneath the sky that is our reality. This painting gives us a moment to pau...

Category

2010s Abstract More Art

Materials

Oil

Wild Waves, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Wild Waves, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

Wild Waves, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

By Andrada Anghel

Located in Yardley, PA

Lage horizontal abstract, expressive and energetic evoking feelings of intensity and questioning, on neutral muted tones of rust, Payne's gray, beige and white. This gorgeous paintin...

Category

2010s Abstract More Art

Materials

Acrylic

Ashes of light, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Ashes of light, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

Ashes of light, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

By Andrada Anghel

Located in Yardley, PA

Ashes of Light unfolds as a vibrant abstraction where glowing oranges, saffron yellows, and ember-like reds rise against soft blues and diffused creams. The composition feels like a ...

Category

2010s Abstract More Art

Materials

Acrylic

Cigarette and Secrets, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Cigarette and Secrets, Painting, Oil on Canvas

Cigarette and Secrets, Painting, Oil on Canvas

By Anna Ravliuc

Located in Yardley, PA

I wanted to capture that silent moment when a woman stands alone with her thoughts — elegant, but not fragile. The cigarette, the mirror, the red gloves, they are not props, but f...

Category

2010s Abstract More Art

Materials

Oil

VILA-CLARA   Girona. Original unique ceramic piece
VILA-CLARA   Girona. Original unique ceramic piece

VILA-CLARA Girona. Original unique ceramic piece

By Vila Clara

Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL

Girona. Original unique ceramic piece. La Bisbal d'Empordà, capital of the Baix Empordà region, is a town with a long pottery and pottery tradition for centuries, as well as one of t...

Category

1990s Abstract More Art

Materials

Ceramic

All In Order, 36"x12" Abstract Painting, Textured, Grey, Beige, Christmas Gift
All In Order, 36"x12" Abstract Painting, Textured, Grey, Beige, Christmas Gift

All In Order, 36"x12" Abstract Painting, Textured, Grey, Beige, Christmas Gift

By Andrea Stajan-Ferkul

Located in Mississauga, Ontario

This contemporary abstract painting features a geometric pattern formed by delicate hand-cut collage motifs. Each paper motif is meticulously hand crafted, contributing to the subtle...

Category

2010s Abstract More Art

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Laid Paper

Entwined
Entwined

Entwined

By Julie Schumer

Located in East Hampton, NY

Blue Abstract About the Artist: Julie Schumer, a native of Los Angeles, California, and born in 1954, lives and paints in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She discovered her love of abstract ...

Category

2010s Abstract More Art

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic

Peace And Quiet - 12”x12” Minimal Abstract Painting, Landscape, Grey, Neutral
Peace And Quiet - 12”x12” Minimal Abstract Painting, Landscape, Grey, Neutral

Peace And Quiet - 12”x12” Minimal Abstract Painting, Landscape, Grey, Neutral

By Andrea Stajan-Ferkul

Located in Mississauga, Ontario

PEACE AND QUIET - This minimal abstract painting places emphasis on simplifying the composition. Tone-on-tone paint textures create gentle movement and visual harmony. The restrained...

Category

2010s Abstract More Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Bloomstruck, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Bloomstruck, Painting, Oil on Canvas

Bloomstruck, Painting, Oil on Canvas

By Angie Wright

Located in Yardley, PA

Bloomstruck began as a joyful experiment in expressionism, one of those days where I just wanted to let loose and allow colour to take over and see where it would lead me. I threw, d...

Category

2010s Abstract More Art

Materials

Oil

Large 3D Cast Paper Abstract Oil Monoprint Unique Monotype Painting John Walker
Large 3D Cast Paper Abstract Oil Monoprint Unique Monotype Painting John Walker

Large 3D Cast Paper Abstract Oil Monoprint Unique Monotype Painting John Walker

By John Walker

Located in Surfside, FL

John Walker British (b. 1939) Salsipuedes Forms (1991) Monoprint relief print with dry pigment, monotype Hand signed lower right Provenance: Garner Tullis Workshop A monotype is literally one of a kind; it is not a method of multiplication. The artist makes an image with a liquid medium on wood, metal or glass, and paper is laid over the moist image and bonded under pressure the paper is then removed bringing with it the transposed monotype. John Walker (born 1939) is an English painter and printmaker. He has been called "one of the standout abstract painters of the last 50 years." Walker studied in Birmingham at the Moseley School of Art, and later the Birmingham School of Art and Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris. Some of his early work was inspired by abstract expressionist art and post-painterly abstraction, and often combined apparently three-dimensional, sculptural shapes with "flatter" elements. These pieces are usually rendered in acrylic paint. In the early 1970s, Walker made a series of large Blackboard Pieces using chalk first exhibited at the opening of Ikon Gallery, in Birmingham Shopping Centre, Birmingham in 1972 and the Juggernaut works which also use dry pigment. From the late 1970s, his work marked allusions to earlier painters, such as Francisco Goya, Edouard Manet and Henri Matisse, either through the quoting of a pictorial motif, or the use of a particular technique. Also during this time, he began to use oil paint more in his work. His paintings of the 1970s are also notable for what has come to be termed canvas collage, the application of glued-on, separately painted patches of canvas to the main canvas. Beginning in the 1970s John Walker was one of the most influential and imitated painters working in the UK; he exhibited alongside Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, represented his country at the 1972 Venice Biennale, had extensive survey shows at both the Tate and Hayward galleries and was nominated for the Turner Prize in 1985. After spending some time in Australia, Walker got a position at the Victoria College of the Arts in Melbourne. He produced the Oceania series around this time which incorporates elements of native Oceanic art. Walker is currently the head of the graduate painting program at Boston University. Walker won the 1976 John Moores Painting Prize and was nominated for the Turner Prize in 1985. In September 2010, Walker and five other British artists including Howard Hodgkin, John Hoyland, Ian Stephenson, Patrick Caulfield and R.B. Kitaj were included in an exhibition entitled The Independent Eye: Contemporary British Art From the Collection of Samuel and Gabrielle Lurie, at the Yale Center for British Art. His art was influenced by Boston Expressionism. Along with Aaron Fink, Gerry Bergstein, Jon Imber, Michael Mazur, Katherine Porter, Jane Smaldone, John Walker, and Philip Guston. Through Garner Tullis at Experimental Press he met Sean Scully, Friedel Dzubas, Helen Frankenthaler, Sam Francis, William Wiley, and others. Select Group Exhibitions (partial list) 1965 John Moores Liverpool Exhibition. Walker Art Center, Liverpool. 1966 Recent Aspects of British Art. Australia and New Zealand (traveled). 1967 4 Artists. Betty Parsons Gallery, New York. John Walker, Michael Kidner, Bruce Tippett, Michael Tyzack...

Category

1990s Abstract More Art

Materials

Monoprint, Monotype

Abstract more art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Abstract more art available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add more art created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, purple, orange, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Onelio Marrero, Nicky Marais , Andrea Stajan-Ferkul, and Janet Dyer. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Oil Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Abstract more art, so small editions measuring 1.38 inches across are also available. Prices for more art made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $11 and tops out at $98,000, while the average work sells for $1,281.