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.
$2,200
Blue Damask - 16”x16”, Abstract Painting, Textured Pattern, Blue, White
Located in Mississauga, Ontario
This highly detailed artwork seamlessly blends acrylic, pencil and colour pencil in a freeform style, maintaining a delicate balance between expressiveness and refinement. The distre...
Canvas, Acrylic, Pencil, Color Pencil
$1,760Sale Price|20% Off
Aged Damask - 16”x16”, Abstract Painting, Pattern, Textured, Beige, White
Located in Mississauga, Ontario
This highly detailed artwork seamlessly blends acrylic, pencil and colour pencil in a freeform style, maintaining a delicate balance between expressiveness and refinement. The distre...
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Pencil, Color Pencil
Autumn Beckons, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Autumn Beckons is an expressive, semi-abstract original oil painting of an Autumn path. It is 36x36x1.5 inches. The painting focuses on the centre of the painting where light is radi...
Oil
Tulips 2024, Painting, Watercolor on Paper
By Gesa Reuter
Located in Yardley, PA
This colorful and expressive tulips watercolor drawing with calligraphy catches what flowers mean to me! Whenever winter leaves, spring takes over and...
Watercolor
Loving Sky, Painting, Watercolor on MDF Panel
By Gesa Reuter
Located in Yardley, PA
This is a special minimalistic painting from a little series - soft watercolors on a museum quality acid free clay primer on mdf panel. This means that the painting can be framed wit...
Watercolor
Passionate II, Painting, Watercolor on Paper
By Gesa Reuter
Located in Yardley, PA
This abstract colorful and expressive abstract watercolor catches the beautiful vast poppy fields in my area, but it also shows all the loving and passionate emotions that we can fee...
Watercolor
Poppy Fields, Painting, Watercolor on Paper
By Gesa Reuter
Located in Yardley, PA
This colorful and expressive abstract watercolor catches what means summer to me! It shows an idea of the beautiful vast flower fields I found near the Baltic Sea. You can almost sme...
Watercolor
Passionate I, Painting, Watercolor on Paper
By Gesa Reuter
Located in Yardley, PA
This abstract colorful and expressive abstract watercolor catches the beautiful vast poppy fields in my area, but it also shows all the loving and passionate emotions that we can fee...
Watercolor
Flower Fields, Painting, Watercolor on Paper
By Gesa Reuter
Located in Yardley, PA
Sometimes you need flowers and bright colors.... today I spent much time researching the work of garden master Piet Oudolf and this may have inspired me to paint more gardens and flo...
Watercolor
Promise II, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
By Gesa Reuter
Located in Yardley, PA
A stormy day at the sea can be a metaphor for inner feelings and emotions.... I love the beautiful traces and marks that come from this expressive mixed media watercolor technique......
Acrylic
Breaking In II, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
By Gesa Reuter
Located in Yardley, PA
I have been overpainting older works and tried out new ways of expressing emotions and feelings. Here I started to play around with oil colors, enjoying the texture of it, the palett...
Acrylic
Studies of an Infinite - Painting, Oil and stick on linen
Located in London, GB
Shooq AlShawi Studies of an Infinite, 2025 Oil and stick on linen 40 x 30 cm each 15 3/4 x 11 3/4 in
Linen, Oil
Cups - Screen Print by Tito Stefanoni - 1972
Located in Roma, IT
Cups is an original screen print on aluminum realized by Tito Stefanoni in 1972. Signed lower right. Edition of 2100. Specimen no. 302 (as marked on rear) The artwork is depicted...
Screen
Oxygen Cutting - Original Bronze by Angelo Bozzola - 1983
Located in Roma, IT
Oxygen Cutting is an original artwork realized by Italian artist, painter as well as sculptor, Angelo Bozzola in 1983 in Turin. Flame cutting on bronze...
Bronze
Be@rbrick x Warhol and Basquiat Estates 400% and 100%
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Bearbrick and Andy Warhol Foundation and Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat Vinyl Figures: Set of two (400% & 100%) A unique, timeless collectible trademarked & licensed by the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat & Andy Warhol. The partnered collectible reveals details from Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol's 'New Flame' painting wrapping the figure in its entirety. Housed in a unique Warhol, Basquiat collector's box. Sold out; highly collectible. Medium: Vinyl Figure. Year: 2021. Set of two figurines...
Resin, Vinyl
$8,000Sale Price|33% Off
Elephant Stampede Tapestry
By LeRoy Neiman
Located in Saint Petersburg, FL
Elephant Stampede Tapestry Published 1988 Image Area Dimensions 60" x 81" Hand Woven Silk Tapestry Edition Size 88 Gallery Retail $25,000. Tapestry 35 from the edition of only 88 pi...
Silk
$10,450
“Post Japan 3 / Osaka” abstract geometric painting, yellow, red, bold pattern
By Gene Johnson
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
A contemporary painting by NYC-based painter, Gene Johnson. Signed on verso: [ "Post Japan 3 Osaka" (Yellow) Acrylic on canvas 2024 47 1/2 x 34 3/4" Gene Johnson ] Artist Bio Gen...
Canvas, Acrylic
Navajo Weaving - Brown, Gray, and Black with a Diamond Center and Pattern
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Original Navajo Weaving. Artist and year of manufacture unknown.
Textile
Navajo Weaving - Chief Blanket with Red, Black and Beige Pattern
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Original Navajo Weaving. Artist and year of manufacture unknown.
Textile
KAWS Flayed Companion 2016: set of 2 works (KAWS companion)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Companion 2016: Set of 2 KAWS Flayed Companions (Brown & Red). Each, new and sealed in original packaging. Published by Medicom Japan in conjunction with the exhibition, KAWS: W...
Resin, Vinyl
Cosmic paradise, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Contemporary acrylic painting made by Frantisek Florian. Inspired by african art. Photo taken on iPhone so best correspond on apple devices. Finally varnished by thin layer. Shipped ...
Acrylic
Abstract fragments 03, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
A vibrant composition features abstract, robotic figures against a backdrop of contrasting colors and geometric shapes. Each section is vividly distinct, with elements suggesting a p...
Acrylic
Abstract fragments 13, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Vibrant colors and abstract forms come together to depict various human-like figures dressed in eclectic attire. Each segment of the artwork presents distinct clothing patterns, blen...
Acrylic
Crossing Path -textile abstract geometric beige, blue handwoven wool framed
By Alma Prism
Located in New York, NY
Alma Prism stands at the intersection of art and ethics, creating geometric abstraction designs that are as responsible as they are beautiful. Through our collaboration with skilled ...
Wool
Amour Fou, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
An eerie of saturated colors that make a strong impact; a very contemporary artistic approach inspired by the current North American imaginary enhanced by the affinity staged by the ...
Acrylic
Ballet is Dead, Sergei Polunin, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
The movement of the body is infinite, which implies that it can be combined with other dancing bodies ... to be fusion or saturation of bodies by the sense, the dance fills the consc...
Acrylic
Yvaral (Jean-Pierre Vasarely) Lithographie - 1978
By Yvaral (Jean-Pierre Vasarely)
Located in Saint-Didier, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Yvaral (Jean-Pierre Vasarely) Lithograph - 1978 Signed by the artist in pencil Numbered in pencil by the artist XXII/C Annotated in pencil 77 x 77 cms 890 euros
Paper
Handmade Ceramic Figurative Sculpture Vase, Abstract, 36x16x15 cm
Located in Vilnius, Vilniaus apskr.
Sofia Horbachevska is a Ukrainian ceramic artist based in Kyiv, where she works in her own studio. A graduate of the Mykhailo Boychuk Kyiv State Academy of Decorative and Applied Art...
Ceramic, Clay
Navajo Weaving - Blanket with Tan, Red, Grey and Black Diamond Pattern
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Original Navajo Weaving. Artist and year of manufacture unknown.
Textile
Large, sculptural studio pottery vessel by Robert Sperry
By Robert Sperry
Located in Colfax, CA
A large bulbous horned vase formed studio pottery vessel by American ceramicist Robert Sperry. Sperry is an important figure in the American studio craft movement. He was born in Bu...
Stoneware
Bhutan Abstraction with Yellow - 1
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This unframed, signed, limited edition pigment print by world renown artist Ricardo Mazal exists in an edition of 30. Paper size is 35 inches h x 30 inches w with an image size of 26 inches h x 27 inches w. Born in Mexico City in 1950, Ricardo Mazal moved to Barcelona Spain in 1986, and since 1990 has lived and worked in New York City, as well as Santa Fe New Mexico. Mazal’s work explores the process of visual perception as it takes form in the human consciousness. His paintings depict the passage of time, not by illustrating events but by leaving their residue to dissipate in space like a still photograph of a speeding object blurred to abstraction. In the last decade he has been honored with ten individual museum exhibitions, including a retrospective at the Museo de Arte Moderno in Mexico City and the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo (MARCO) in Monterrey. He has also shown at the Museo Nacional de Anthropologia, Mexico City and the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. KORA follows the direction begun by La Tumba de La Reina Roja (The tomb of the Red Queen...
Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
Goddess 4
By Gary Mankus
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This unframed, signed, limited edition pigment print by artist Gary Mankus exists in an edition of 40. Paper size is 37"h x 35"w with an image size of 29"h x 29"w. Gary Mankus was b...
Cotton, Digital, Pigment, Archival Pigment, Digital Pigment
$6,375Sale Price|36% Off
The Mistress of the Copper Mountain , 200x85 cm, oil on canvas
Located in Yerevan, AM
The Mistress of the Copper Mountain , 200x85 cm, oil on canvas
Canvas, Oil
$3,150Sale Price|25% Off
Grape Universe, 100x170 cm, acrylic on canvas
Located in Yerevan, AM
Grape Universe, 100x170 cm, acrylic on canvas
Canvas, Acrylic
$1,125Sale Price|25% Off
Night music , 65x49cm, acrylic on paper
Located in Yerevan, AM
Night music , 65x49cm, acrylic on paper
Paper, Acrylic
$2,100Sale Price|25% Off
Pandora, 98x70cm, oil on canvas
Located in Yerevan, AM
Pandora, 98x70cm, oil on canvas
Canvas, Oil
Goddess I
By Gary Mankus
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This unframed, signed, limited edition pigment print by artist Gary Mankus exists in an edition of 40. Paper size is 37"h x 35"w with an image size of 29"h x 29"w. Gary Mankus was b...
Cotton, Digital, Pigment, Archival Pigment, Digital Pigment
Lost At Sea, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
water and portrait - expressive :: Painting :: Abstract Expressionism :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the artist :: Ready to Hang: Yes :: S...
Acrylic
Tornado, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Abstract , acrylic painting with gestural brushstrokes, evocative marks and personal calligraphy. Metallics create reflective areas. Historically and now, reflections have to do with...
Acrylic
Shackin' Up, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By Ethan Newman
Located in Yardley, PA
I made this work over the course of the last year or so. It features thick oil paint, which I applied using palette knives and brushes. The end result is a painting that is truly ali...
Oil
Inner Light, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By Ethan Newman
Located in Yardley, PA
One of the greatest joys of painting for me is watching the unexpected emerge. And one of the greatest feelings while working is completely forgetting yourself, and just losing yours...
Oil
These Old Routes No Longer Lead Out, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By Ethan Newman
Located in Yardley, PA
This painting is part of a larger series of works all executed over the last year or so. Instead of employing my usual working methods where I continually scrape away and build up th...
Oil
Night Owl, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By Ethan Newman
Located in Yardley, PA
This painting is part of a larger series of works all executed over the last year or so. Instead of employing my usual working methods where I continually scrape away and build up th...
Oil
Pillar, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By Ethan Newman
Located in Yardley, PA
This painting is part of a larger series of works all executed over the last year or so. Instead of employing my usual working methods where I continually scrape away and build up th...
Oil
Song of Love, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By Ethan Newman
Located in Yardley, PA
One of the greatest joys of painting for me is watching the unexpected emerge. And one of the greatest feelings while working is completely forgetting yourself, and just losing yours...
Oil
$300Sale Price|50% Off
Lake house, 80х80cm, print on canvas.Edition of 20 pieces
Located in Yerevan, AM
Edition of 20 pieces
Canvas, Color
$300Sale Price|50% Off
Lake house, 80х80cm, print on canvas.Edition of 20 pieces
Located in Yerevan, AM
Edition of 20 pieces
Canvas, Color
"Drip Splatter" large-scale abstract painting, black and white
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
"Drip Splatter" is a large oil and resin painting by contemporary American artist Darius Yektai. A splatter paint composition on resin, reminiscent of Jackson Pollock who lived and w...
Canvas, Resin, Oil
$1,650Sale Price|25% Off
Two heads, 70x100cm, acrylic on canvas
Located in Yerevan, AM
Two heads, 70x100 cm
Canvas, Acrylic
Anton Bruckner, Mass No.2 E-minor, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Classical music inspires me in all its forms , I hope the viewer loses himself in the atmosphere that I try to create on the canvas. I lose myself in the music and try to capture m...
Acrylic
Forests in summer, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
By Emily STARCK
Located in Yardley, PA
This painting is inpired by Nature like most of my works. Worked on several layers with professional and high quality painting with anti UV protection and velvet rendering. Edges ...
Acrylic
$825Sale Price|25% Off
Main in red, 78 x 54 cm, acrylic on paper
Located in Yerevan, AM
Main in red, 78x54 cm
Paper, Acrylic
Autumnal No. 12, Painting, Watercolor on Watercolor Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
Original watercolor painting on 140 lb Arches cold press paper with deckled edges :: Painting :: Abstract Expressionism :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authentici...
Watercolor
Autumnal No. 11, Painting, Watercolor on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
Original watercolor painting on 140 lb Arches cold press paper with deckled edges :: Painting :: Abstract Expressionism :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authentici...
Watercolor
Mountainscape No. 4, Painting, Watercolor on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Original watercolor painting on canvas. Signed on front. Varnished and ready to hang, with a handcrafted maple solid wood floater frame. :: Painting :: Abstract Expressionism :: This...
Watercolor
Joy, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
By Eleni Denart
Located in Yardley, PA
Joy", an abstract painting, captures the essence of nature's vibrant palette. Swirls of gray, reminiscent of weathered stone, mingle with the serene blues of a summer sky. Turquoise ...
Acrylic
Free Dive, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
By Eleni Denart
Located in Yardley, PA
This authentic painting, titled "Free Dive," vividly captures the essence of deep-sea exploration. Its swirling blues and shimmering golds evoke the interplay of light and shadow in ...
Acrylic
Keep on going -2, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By Elena Done
Located in Yardley, PA
I admire the mismatch of shape and contour by Picasso, saturated bold colors of Kandinsky, biomorphic shapes of Miro and energetic powerful brushstrokes of De Kooning. I want my vie...
Oil
Summer Daydream -2, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By Elena Done
Located in Yardley, PA
These artworks are inspired by my summer daydreams during Spanish siesta and are intended to evoke playful slow revelations for the viewer. For me, painting is a physical act, an en...
Oil
Carnival, Painting, Oil on Canvas