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.
Lone Pine, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
On a solo hike, I passed through some beautiful aspen groves. It was early morning and the sunlight was filtering in behind. I noticed a lone, small pine grow...
Oil
Tenacity, Abstract Oil Painting
By Shyun Song
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Deep red squares, framed by crisp turquoise lines, form a precise grid. A single white bar at the top disrupts the uniformity, hinting at a breakthrough. Arti...
Oil
Sunny Yellow Roses, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Artist Nicole Lamothe says her focus in this soft, warm still life was the glowing sunlight streaming through her studio window. "I arranged the pair of yello...
Oil
Hope for New York Part l, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Colette's latest series of paintings draws inspiration from living in New York for many years. "I worked to capture the beautiful light and vivid colors found...
Acrylic
Morning Quiet, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Artist Sherri Aldawood captured the morning sunlight falling across a courtyard in Tlaquepaque in Sedona, AZ. During the day, the outdoor market bustles with ...
Oil
Where Do We Go from Here, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
While visiting Paris a few years ago, Faye was inspired by the way the late afternoon sunlight cast its long shadows across this busy street corner. "The warm...
Oil
"Accumulated Roads, " Marble Mosaic, 2016
Located in Chicago, IL
In the mosaic “Accumulated Roads,” Toyoharu Kii describes the futility of man’s attempts to traverse and tame nature. The work portrays a tangle of once carefully aligned tesserea paths, now broken and falling ruin, a victim of disregard in nature’s relentless chaos. A leader of the cross-cultural craft resurgence, Japan-based artist Toyoharu Kii creates his intricate mosaics with hand-cut Italian marble and smalti, Venetian glass made by the same Italian family for over 400 years. Using traditional Italian techniques, Kii’s art is nonetheless modern. It is monochromatic, abstract, and highly textured and highlights the involved and technical art...
Marble
Watch Your Step, Painting, Oil on MDF Panel
By Craig Moran
Located in Yardley, PA
Peculiar thrill of tumultuous entrails, skeletal magic. :: Painting :: Abstract Expressionism :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the artist ...
Oil
I Saw the Night Split Into Multitudes, Painting, Oil on MDF Panel
By Craig Moran
Located in Yardley, PA
I saw the night split into multitudes, breathing heavy with desire. :: Painting :: Abstract Expressionism :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by...
Oil
Severed Fantasy, Painting, Oil on MDF Panel
By Craig Moran
Located in Yardley, PA
All paths lead to nowhere that is somewhere waiting to be found. PLEASE NOTE: There is a slight, very small ding at the bottom right hand corner of the painting surface. :: Pai...
Oil
Apples in Sunlight, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Apples on a branch glow in warm light, accentuated by the cool abstract backdrop. Sherri applied paint primarily with a palette knife. She says that because o...
Oil
Raraskadoot, Abstract Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
This piece was inspired by the vibrant cheerful colors. Metallic and interference colors were used to create a vibrant effect. This piece is on gallery wrapped canvas and the painting continues around the sides. It comes varnished and ready to hang.
About the Artist
Courtney Jacobs...
Acrylic
Broken Sleep, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
This ethereal portrait of a woman represents a fleeting encounter that fades away. Rendered with soft light, the painting mimics the quality of a dream disapp...
Oil
"Green in the Corners, " Mixed Media Mosaic, 2021
Located in Chicago, IL
Intricate, ethereal and highly textured, the abstract compositions of Japanese mosaic artist Toyoharu Kii reflect a sophisticated approach to the technical art of mosaic making. Clas...
Marble
Ease, Original Painting
By Robin Okun
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Broad strokes of blue and green merge with the strong lines of the figure to create a sense of lightness and buoyancy. "This painting was inspired by a holida...
Acrylic
French Countryside Part VI, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Part of a series inspired by Colette's journey through the french countryside. An abstracted foreground gives way to a small village scene, with the town chur...
Acrylic
Willow , Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Naoko says that when she came upon this scene, the willow tree - with its leaves turned yellow - looked like a huge sweet candied ginger. "Warm and transparen...
Oil
Prairie Dawn, Original Painting
By Nancy Merkle
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
A misty dawn over a western prairie, the yellow grasses and dark foliage contrast suggesting a sunny day to come. Part of Nancy's si...
Acrylic
Winter Path, Oil Painting
By Jill Poyerd
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
The bare branches and textured grasses in this piece were painted mostly with a palette knife, giving it the broken, wild feeling of nature. In addition to th...
Oil
Essence of Lavender, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
While the artist painted this scene from life, the aroma of lavender filled the studio. "The atmosphere seemed to calm the storms of the day," Pamela recalls....
Oil
At the Center of the Forest, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
A sophisticated, dreamlike view of divergent paths one can take. The middle path appearing as a painting within a painting...
Acrylic
Bare Trees 1, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Building up many layers of color in oil paint and cold wax medium, Valerie then used scrapers to reveal the tree trunks in an abstract landscape. Warm orange and yellow trees standing in front of a cool blue and green background. Heavy texture complements the expressionist palette. The piece is part of a series of three works. Although Valerie did not create them as triptych, the three hang well close together.
About the Artist
Valerie Berkely uses her finger tips as brushes to create her abstract paintings. For Valerie, the art is all about the process, the paint, her mood, and the moment. She admires the artist Wolf Kahn, who once said, “the picture is the conclusion of an experiment in which the hint of an image becomes actuality." Like Kahn, Valerie’s paintings combine pictorial landscapes with painterly abstraction. The vibrant primary colors capture the hues of the sun rising and setting, and the texture of her fingers across the surface divides sea, land, and sky. There is something very dreamy about these works, exemplified by their color, texture, and atmospheric quality. Valerie’s first “art epiphany” was seeing Seurat's La Grande Jatte at the Art Institute of Chicago. “Bowled me over! I actually fell down. And I knew I was to become a painter.”
Words that describe this painting: woods, forest, trees, nature, expressionism, nature, non-representational, oil painting, blue
Bare Trees...
Oil
Bare Trees 2, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Building up many layers of color in oil paint and cold wax medium, Valerie then used scrapers to reveal the tree trunks in an abstract landscape. Warm orange and yellow trees standing in front of a cool blue and green background. Heavy texture complements the expressionist palette. The piece is part of a series of three works. Although Valerie did not create them as triptych, the three hang well close together.
About the Artist
Valerie Berkely...
Oil
In the Stillness, Abstract Oil Painting
By Morgan Fite
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Morgan creates ethereal atmospheres using feathery brushstrokes and subtle contrasts. Her muted, tonal palette allows the texture and layering to take centers...
Oil
$1,412Sale Price|20% Off
Ichtios - XX Century, Contemporary Abstract Watercolor Painting, Bright Colors
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...
Paper, Watercolor
Pine Trees in the Mountains, After the Rain, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Suren travels extensively, seeking out unique compositions in the neighborhoods, architecture and nature he encounters. For Suren, it is important for him to ...
Oil
$282Sale Price|20% Off
Abstraction - XXI Century, Contemporary Abstract Watercolor Painting, Colorful
Located in Warsaw, PL
Tadeusz Czarnecki is a Polish artist born in 1960.
Paper, Watercolor
$282Sale Price|20% Off
Abstraction - XXI Century, Contemporary Abstract Watercolor Painting, Colorful
Located in Warsaw, PL
Tadeusz Czarnecki is a Polish artist born in 1960.
Paper, Watercolor
Varujan Boghosian Abstract Expressionist Paper Collage in Frame, Silhouette
Located in Milford, NH
A fine abstract expressionist paper collage with an early pen & ink handwritten letter under a cut silhouette of a gentleman by American artist Varujan Boghosian (1926-2020). Boghosi...
Laid Paper
A Riot of Roses
By Lisa Nielsen
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
This painting is about combining realism, abstraction, color, spontaneity - all of the things that I think make for an exciting and engaging piece of art.
Oil
Evening in Valley of the Gods
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
This is a distant view of the hoodoos in Valley of the Gods in Utah. The glowing sunset light and long shadows as I prepared to ca...
Oil
Grasslands II
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
The intuitive nature of my personality flows over into my art practice. It is essential for me to paint without reference materials or a preconceived outcome. Art has healed me and brought so much joy and peace into my life. I am fascinated with clouds, fog, mist, rays of sunlight, mountains, trees, sunsets, marshlands, rolling pastures, moody skies. Through my paintings, I seek to create images that bring peace and inspire hope.
About the Artist
Jenn Williamson expertly evokes the scenery of British Columbia in her soft abstract landscapes. She utilizes defining horizontal and vertical strokes, coupled with a skillful handling of color, to create significant depth in each piece. Her paintings, though abstracted, clearly convey the atmospheric attributes of the scene–rain, wind, clouds, fog. Jenn’s muted color palette transports the viewer to the Canadian west coast...
Acrylic
Blue Glass Jar, Oil Painting
By Lisa Nielsen
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
I really love still life. Nothing helps me grow more as an artist than painting still life. It sits for one so patiently as you strive to capture it's image on your canvas. But it challenges me also. It's not easy to keep it from looking static and void of life. I think I was able to give this one some of the energy of light and color that it was patiently showing to me. A juicy harmony of fruit and flowers and deep cobalt blue glass...
Oil
Dawn to Dusk
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
It's my continuing love affair with the forest. Using contrast, I portray the rose of morning rising from the shadows.
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.
Dawn to...
Acrylic
Blue Monday
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
This painting was inspired by the view from my hotel balcony in Paris of the pedestrian below me, trying to button his coat as he walked against the wind. I created the movement of the walking figure in expressive brushstrokes that emulate pixelation and motion. I use the unique aerial perspective to turn the human figure into a more abstract shape and to emphasize the movement of the figure.
About the Artist
Warren Keating's paintings start with documentation. He captures subjects on video from birds-eye views, digitizes the film on his computer and, finally, paints them on canvas in an active style he describes as Pixel Impressionism. He merges artistic elements of the 20th Century with 21st Century technology. Warren credits Futurism as well as Richard Diebenkorn and Willem de Kooning as influences in his paintings. Fun fact: Warren’s inspiration for this series came from a vacation to Paris where he photographed passersby from his hotel balcony in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
Blue Monday...
Oil
Dog and Walker on St. Germain
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
This painting was inspired by my view from a hotel balcony in Paris. I captured the motion and texture of the moment in my signature style to inspire the view...
Oil
Winter Scene
By Nancy Merkle
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
This painting was inspired by a beautiful winter scene. Western mountains spotted with evergreen trees and banks of snow depict a ...
Acrylic
$120Sale Price|20% Off
Untitled Encaustic Painting, Abstract Expressionism, Unframed
Located in Chesterfield, MI
Encaustic Art is a kind that touches the the viewer with raw emotion. This work by Midland, Michigan artis Fletcher Dean comes with advice from the artist himself on the back to prot...
Encaustic
$847Sale Price|20% Off
Necklace - XXI century, Contemporary Abstraction Oil painting, Vivid colors
Located in Warsaw, PL
Paintnig is on exhibition, please cuntact us for availability PIOTR BUTKIEWICZ (born in 1966) Butkiewicz obtained his education at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław. He graduated ...
Canvas, Oil
Twist & Turn I (pairs with Twist & Turn II to create a diptych)
Located in Dallas, TX
hand burnt lines & hand dyed fabric on paper
Fabric, Paper, Engraving
Connect & Grow
Located in Dallas, TX
hand burnt lines & hand dyed fabric on paper
Paper, Engraving, Fabric
Faceted Connection
Located in Dallas, TX
hand burnt lines on paper
Paper, Engraving
Cyclical Connection
Located in Dallas, TX
hand burnt lines on paper
Paper, Engraving
Anahola Beach, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
A high tide at Anahola beach on the East side of Kauai provides the inspiration for this painting. :: Painting :: Abstract Expressionism :: This piece comes with an official certific...
Oil
The Basque Suite #5
Located in New York, NY
Color screenprint on J. B. Green paper, 1970-71. Initialed by the artist and numbered 123/150 in pencil, lower right. Printed by Kelpra Studio, London. Published by Marlborough Gra...
Screen, Color
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
"Feng Shui, " Mixed-Media Kite
Located in Chicago, IL
Chicago-based artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites crafted from split bamboo frames covered with stretched muslin and a collage of vintage Asian ephemera—including fragments of fabric, scrolls, drawings, and books collected during his travels. In “Feng Shui...
Muslin, Silk, Wood
A Fantastic Story, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Original modern abstract painting. * Original hand-painted painting. * The artwork is signed on the back and includes a Certificate of Authenticity. * The painting is done on st...
Acrylic
Home Is Love No.7, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
By Bea Schubert
Located in Yardley, PA
Home is Love No.4 is 60cm x 60cm x 2cm deep.6 Home is confidence, trust, hope and love. What and where is home? Home is an inner feeling. A home plays a vital role in human life. H...
Acrylic
Home Is Love No.11, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
By Bea Schubert
Located in Yardley, PA
Acrylic, ink, gold paint, pastels, spray paint on Canvas. Home is Love No.11 is a 80 cm W x 120cm W, 2 cm deep mixed media painting diptychon. Each panel is signed and is 40 x 120 c...
Acrylic
Kiss Of Life No.1, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
By Bea Schubert
Located in Yardley, PA
My painting, inspired by Sade's soulful "Kiss of Life," captures the tender essence of love and connection. At its heart, the symbols of two butterflies and kissing fishes come a...
Acrylic
Home To You No.2, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
By Bea Schubert
Located in Yardley, PA
"Home to you“ is a semi-abstract painting, 80 x 80 cm on canvas. Home is where we find our balance, the point which connects us with the heart. So home has more to do with a p...
Acrylic
Home By The Sea, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
By Bea Schubert
Located in Yardley, PA
Home by the sea is a semi-abstract painting, 100 x 70 cm on high quality canvas. Home is where we find our balance, the point which connects us with the heart. So home has more to d...
Acrylic
My Home and My Heart No.7, Painting, Acrylic on Other
By Bea Schubert
Located in Yardley, PA
Acrylic, ink, pastels, Spray Paint, on Canvas. My Home and my Heart No.7 is a 160 cm W x 190 cm H in, mixed media painting. Fine layers create a mystical atmospere. This Series is ...
Acrylic
Home Is Love No.13, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
By Bea Schubert
Located in Yardley, PA
Home is Love No.13 is 50cm H x 50cm W x 4cm deep. Unframed. In creating this piece, I aimed to evoke the deep, complex textures of emotions that make up our sense of 'home.' U...
Acrylic
Life Goes On No.1, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
By Bea Schubert
Located in Yardley, PA
50 x 100cm, 4 cm deep. Ready tp hang. Varnished for protection against UV light. This painting shows soft red and pink shapes flowing gently over a light pastel green background. ...
Acrylic
Love Lives Here No.1, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
By Bea Schubert
Located in Yardley, PA
Love lives here No.1 is 40cm H x 40cm W x 4cm deep. Unframed. In creating this piece, I aimed to evoke the deep, complex textures of emotions that make up our sense of 'home.' Uti...
Acrylic
Life Is For The Brave No.1, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
By Bea Schubert
Located in Yardley, PA
"Life is for the brave No.1" is a large abstract painting, an acrylic on canvas measuring 120x60 cm. Warm pastel colors like peach, rose, mint, and sand blend together in a lyrical a...
Acrylic
After Lygia Clark II by Luciana Levinton, Geometric Abstract Painting Blue, 2019
Located in Miami, FL
After Lygia Clark II by Luciana Levinton, Geometric Abstract Painting Blue, 2019 Oil on Canvas 60 x 50 inches This sophisticated geometric abstraction by Luciana Levinton explores ...
Oil
"Restoration Test, " White Marble Mosaic
Located in Chicago, IL
A leader of the cross-cultural craft resurgence, Japan-based artist Toyoharu Kii creates his intricate mosaics with hand-cut Italian marble and smalti, Venetian glass made by the same Italian family for over 400 years. Using traditional Italian techniques, Kii’s art is nonetheless modern. It is monochromatic, abstract, and highly textured and highlights the involved and technical art of mosaic making. In this mosaic entitled "Restoration Test...
Marble