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.
$315Sale Price|55% Off
What mask are you wearing? 80x80cm, print on canvas.Edition of 20 pieces
Located in Yerevan, AM
Edition of 20 pieces
Canvas, Color
$315Sale Price|55% Off
What mask are you wearing? 80x80cm, print on canvas.Edition of 20 pieces
Located in Yerevan, AM
Edition of 20 pieces
Canvas, Color
$750Sale Price|25% Off
Two pines , 60x25 cm, oil on canvas
Located in Yerevan, AM
Two pines , 60x25 cm, oil on canvas
Canvas, Oil
$375Sale Price|25% Off
series "Non-standard configurations", 42x30 cm, acrylic on paper
By Tatiana Nega
Located in Yerevan, AM
series "Non-standard configurations", 42x30 cm, acrylic on paper
Paper, Acrylic
Sonoran Hillside, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Drawing inspiration from her hiking trips, artist Crystal DiPietro paints scenes she personally witnesses. She depicts a hillside view of Saguaro cacti overlooking the canyon. "They stand like sentinels along the landscape," describes Crystal. She paints the mountains turning...
Oil
$750Sale Price|25% Off
Untitled , 78x54cm, acrylic, paper
Located in Yerevan, AM
Untitled , 2025, 78x54 cm The work is sold without a frame.
Paper, Pastel, Acrylic
Silver Poppies, Sept 7, 2022 (Ed: 22/50)
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Donald Sultan is an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker. He is particularly well-known for large-scale still life paintings, and one of the first to employ a wide range of ind...
Screen
$1,500Sale Price|25% Off
Pinky , 120x100cm, acrylic on canvas
Located in Yerevan, AM
Pinky , 2022, 120x100cm
Oil Pastel, Acrylic, Permanent Marker
Summer Peonies, Oil Painting
By Lisa Elley
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Inspired by nature's blooms, artist Lisa Elley rendered this piece solely with the use of a palette knife. She creates thick tangible textures, leaping off th...
Oil
Skyward, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
"I decided to lean into the suggestive pose of the figure," shares artist Sumner Crenshaw, "creating a work that radiates with confident sensuality and femini...
Oil
$2,002Sale Price|20% Off
When everything was Groovy-original cityscape London painting-contemporary Art
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. “When Everything Was Groovy, Carnaby Street” by Therese James ...
Canvas, Oil
Tryon 11, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Artist Naoko Tadotsu displays ethereal expressionism with an image of a blazing tree. The sun sets behind it, giving its silhouette a dark translucent glow. The light reflecting from the river's surface filters through the leaves and twinkles like glass shards. The fiery orange hues against the blue and green accents give the composition warmth and brilliance.
About the Artist
Brilliant prismatic trees radiate in artist Naoko Tadotsu’s expressionist compositions. “I am always in awe of nature, color, and light,†says Naoko. These three facets establish her vibrant works in fluid strokes of vivid hues. Roots of her influence trace back to growing up in Osaka, where these elements were abundant. Naoko migrated to New York where she was immersed and fell in love with the world of art. What was once unexpressed inspiration inevitably translated onto the canvas. Her work often crosses into abstraction, capturing her feelings towards nature and painting it as its own entity. “The trees, like people, show different faces,†adds Naoko. In the same way, her pieces elicit different perspectives from every viewer. All Naoko needs is a portable easel...
Oil
$825Sale Price|25% Off
Noon by the sea , 60x50 cm, oil on canvas
Located in Yerevan, AM
Noon by the sea , 60x50 cm, oil on canvas
Canvas, Oil
$12,000
Animal
Located in Wilton, CT
silk, metal thread, flax
Textile
Fall to Autumn, Oil Painting
By Lisa Elley
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
"Whether it's fall, winter, spring, or summer it's always time for some colorful birch!" exclaims artist Lisa Elley. Golden yellow leaves leap off the canvas ...
Oil
$3,360Sale Price|20% Off
Soaring. 100x100cm, acrylic on canvas
Located in Yerevan, AM
Soaring. 100x100cm
Canvas, Acrylic
Sunflowers in Bloom, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
A glowing still life of sunflowers and wildflowers arranged on a rich blue backdrop. Artist Jeff Fleming describes his painting style as kinetic impressionism. Jeff started the piece with a pencil sketch on the canvas, then with gloved hands, he generously applied oil paint using his fingers. Jeff says he created this scene purely from imagination.
About the Artist
Artist Jeff Fleming uses fingerpainting to create exuberant portraits of dogs. Growing up in Southern California, Jeff was first introduced to fingerpainting in kindergarten. He painted through high school and college and won several art awards, including Best of Show in a city wide student competition. After graduating with a degree in journalism and advertising, he went to work as an art director. For the next 40 years, he created print, radio and television ads for a number of top agencies. "After retiring in 2019, the clouds of stress and pressure cleared and allowed me to set my creative energy free," says Jeff. He began developing new techniques focused on the excitement and energy of painting. Today, he uses a variety of methods and tools, including fingerpainting wearing nitrile gloves, traditional paint brushes, bamboo shish kebab sticks, kite string, spraypaint and splattering. While working, Jeff always listens to music, including Broadway musicals, dance music and rhythmic Hawaiian tunes.
Words that describe this painting: impressionism, flowers, vase, spring, blooms, Iris Scott...
Oil
Mora 3, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Artist Heather Foster displays a calm landscape of Northern New Mexico. Three bulls line up in the center of the grassy field in front of a breathtaking view ...
Acrylic
$375Sale Price|25% Off
series "Personal Contacts", 61 x 48 cm, acrylic on paper
By Tatiana Nega
Located in Yerevan, AM
series "Personal Contacts", 61 x 48 cm The work is sold without a frame and mat
Paper, Acrylic
$750Sale Price|25% Off
Roofs , 40x40 cm, oil on canvas
Located in Yerevan, AM
Ship , 40x40 cm, oil on canvas
Canvas, Oil
Dawn at the Grand Canyon, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
"For a few brief moments on the south rim, the morning sun lights up the canyon walls like neon while casting blue shadows into its depths," says artist Cryst...
Oil
$4,500
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...
Monoprint, Monotype
$2,625Sale Price|25% Off
Dialog , 100x140 cm, acrylic on canvas
By Tatiana Nega
Located in Yerevan, AM
Dialog, 2023, 100x140 cm
Acrylic
"Boro, " 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. This kite entitled "Boro" is patterned with Japanese indigo-dyed fabric scraps, sewn together to form a patchwork of contrasting patterns and shades of blue. The kite's design recreates the traditional practice of Boro stitching...
Cotton, Muslin, Thread, Wood, Dye
Morning Contemplation, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
"In this painting, I wanted to further my explorations of interiors in dramatic lighting and the look of folds on unmade beds," explains artist Onelio Marrero...
Oil
Breathless Sky, Original Painting
By Nancy Merkle
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Artist Nancy Merkle captures a big open western sky over a grassy prairie. Large, fluffy clouds sweep up to the heavens, reflecting the pastel colors of the s...
Acrylic
$750Sale Price|25% Off
One day stay, 78x54 cm, acrylic/paper/pastel
Located in Yerevan, AM
One day stay, 78x54 cm
Paper, Acrylic
$12,000
Summer and Winter, Mid-Century Tapestry, Woven Hanging, Textile Wall Sculpture
By Adela Akers
Located in Wilton, CT
Adela Akers (b. 1933, Santiago de Compostela, Spain) is a Spanish-born textile and fiber artist. She is Professor Emeritus (1972 to 1995) at the Tyler Scho...
Textile, Linen, Thread, Yarn, Fabric, Tapestry
Edge of the Woods, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Artist James Hartman draws inspiration from the experience of seeing sunlit colors and details appearing through the strong vertical tree pattern. He expresses the painting sections to appear like stained glass. James highlights small areas where collaged 100-year-old paper show through the surface, he does this in a non-disruptive way. James applies heat to fuse the oils into a mixture of beeswax and damar crystals to seal the work.
About the Artist
When James Hartman was in art school, he became fascinated with the Society of Six, a group of artists who painted en plein air (outdoors) and exhibited together in the San Francisco Bay Area during the early 20th Century. James's paintings of the Northern California landscape pay tribute to some of the great Bay Area artists of the past. His expressive scenes feel alive through his vibrant use of color and his painterly brushwork. James’s paintings have an immediate visual impact from a distance, yet up close, dissolve into a series of confident marks and strokes. There is a simultaneous complexity and steadiness in his flattened, color-blocked planes. Knowledge and observation are essential elements of James’s working practice. To this end, he spends a large proportion of his time painting on location. His body of work captures the fresh and sunlit essence of the coastal California hills.
Words that describe this painting: expressionism, encaustic, beeswax, collage, antique ephemera...
Encaustic
$1,308Sale Price|20% Off
"PaperLandscape" by Marilina Marchica – Original Collage on Papyrus and Antique
Located in Agrigento, AG
"PaperLandscape" by Marilina Marchica – Original Collage on Papyrus and Antique Wallpaper, One-of-a-Kind with Custom Handmade Frame – 60x50 cm, 2025 Description: PaperLandscape i...
Handmade Paper
Santiago Medina - INNER STRENGTH (TABLE TOP), Sculpture 2022
Located in Stamford, CT
Italian stainless steel with a special high-temperature patina. Sculptor Santiago Medina Italian stainless steel sculptures are at marquee public art venues worldwide such as Harvar...
Stainless Steel
Twilight in New York, Flatiron Building, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
"One of the most beautiful and iconic buildings in New York," states artist Suren Nersisyan. Thick textured strokes in a dusk-dipped palette make for a harmon...
Oil
The Phone Call, Oil Painting
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...
Oil
The Moon Like a Flower 2 - Painting, Oil on canvas
Located in London, GB
Neda Dana-Haeri The Moon Like a Flower 2, 2023 Oil on canvas 80 x 60 cm 31 1/2 x 23 5/8 in
Canvas, Oil
$2,000
Australian American D. Rankin Abstract Expressionist Oil Painting Rocky Hillside
By David Rankin
Located in Surfside, FL
David Rankin, American (b. 1946) Rocky Hillside, (1990) Oil on paper Hand signed lower right, signed and titled verso. 30 x 22 1/2 inches David Rankin is a New York-based, British-b...
Paper, Oil
Remains of the Day, Abstract Oil on Canvas, 40x40 cm, 2021
Located in London, GB
Neda Dana-Haeri Remains of the Day, 2021 Oil on canvas 40 x 40 cm 15 3/4 x 15 3/4 in
Canvas, Oil
Red Poppies, Aug 17, 2022 (Ed: 22/50)
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Donald Sultan is an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker. He is particularly well-known for large-scale still life paintings, and one of the first to employ a wide range of ind...
Screen
$35,000
Rocks, Post-Modern Abstract Landscape Woven Tapestry, Textile Sculpture
Located in Wilton, CT
Rocks (1985), Wool, Post-Modern Abstract Landscape Woven Tapestry, Textile Sculpture. Zofia Butrymowicz (1904-1987) was born in Warsaw, Poland. Artis...
Fabric, Textile, Tapestry, Wool
$400
Mixed Media Abstract Collage, Sand, Paper, Gouache, Signed, 19.25x13.5
Located in Arp, TX
James Spencer Russell "#4" 1958 Collage with paper, sand, gouache Signed in pencil 19.25x13.5" James Spencer Russell (1915-2000) was born in Monticello, Indiana, but spent much of h...
Sandstone
$750Sale Price|25% Off
Ship , 40x50 cm, oil on canvas
Located in Yerevan, AM
Ship , 40x50 cm, oil on canvas
Canvas, Oil
Yellow fields, Eleanor Woolley, Bright Art, Naive Art, Abstract Fields
Located in Deddington, GB
Yellow fields is an original painting by Eleanor Woolley. A beautiful view from May hill with the bright yellow fields of oil seed rape contrasting wildly with the ploughed patches ...
Canvas, Oil
$270Sale Price|55% Off
Still life with oysters, 80х80cm, print on canvas.Edition of 20 pieces
Located in Yerevan, AM
Edition of 20 pieces
Canvas, Color
Pastel Pontification, Original Painting
By Autumn Rose
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Artist Autumn Rose presents a luscious, pastel bouquet inspired by sunflowers and anemones. Rich layers of acrylic create a tactile surface, while bold black ...
Acrylic
Succulent Summer, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
"Last spring, I picked up a little collection of succulents from the grocery store," says artist Tara Zalewsky-Nease. "I hesitated to buy them at first, as I’...
Oil
Poppies - Still Life, Original Painting
By Ruth LaGue
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Ruth LaGue expresses an arrangement of two red poppies in a yellow ceramic vase. A lone petal falls onto the table's surface adding a dramatic touch. Ruth use...
Acrylic
$750Sale Price|25% Off
Two pines , 60x25 cm, oil on canvas
Located in Yerevan, AM
Two pines , 60x25 cm, oil on canvas
Canvas, Oil
Monterey Magic, Oil Painting
By Lisa Elley
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Artist Lisa Elley displays an impression of a breezy coastal seascape on a beautiful summer's day. She draws inspiration from one of her plein air painting tr...
Oil
$4,867
Cola + Bears -original still life hyperrealism artwork - oil painting - pop art
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Canvas, Oil
$750Sale Price|25% Off
Fuchsia , 50x50 cm, oil on canvas
Located in Yerevan, AM
Fuchsia , 50x50 cm, oil on canvas
Canvas, Oil
$750Sale Price|25% Off
Sunflowers , 40x50 cm, oil on canvas
Located in Yerevan, AM
Sunflowers , 40x50 cm, oil on canvas
Canvas, Oil
$2,781Sale Price|20% Off
Utter Impudence-original abstract minimalist painting-contemporary Art
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. Fiona Debell's "Utter Impudence" is a compelling abstract mini...
Canvas, Acrylic
The golden volcano, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
****This painting will be shipped ready to hang only to USA and Canada. Outside Continental North America it will be shipped rolled in a long sturdy box. If you do not live in North ...
Acrylic
$825Sale Price|25% Off
series "Shells", 70x50 cm, acrylic on cardboard
By Tatiana Nega
Located in Yerevan, AM
series "Shells", 70x50 cm, acrylic on cardboard The work is sold without a frame and mat
Acrylic, Cardboard
Low Country Garden, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
"I was excited to be able to stay in the garden after closing time to paint the sunset over the marsh," shares artist Sherri Aldawood. She painted this view en plein air at Middleton Place...
Oil
$2,400Sale Price|25% Off
Connected by one network, 90x150cm, acrylic on canvas
By Tatiana Nega
Located in Yerevan, AM
Connected by one network, 2020, 90x150 cm
Canvas, Acrylic
$1,125Sale Price|25% Off
Isolation, 60x60cm, acrylic on canvas
By Tatiana Nega
Located in Yerevan, AM
Isolation, 2020, 60x60 cm
Canvas, Acrylic
Enchanted Forest Dance, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Part of artist Onelio Marrero's ongoing series exploring scenes from the world of ballet. Two ballerinas prepare their costumes on stage during a rehearsal an...
Oil
I Wish That I Could Ride on the Shadows of Clouds, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
A fervent hiker and camper, artist Crystal DiPietro invites the viewer on an adventure of the majestic wilderness of the southwest. "This piece is about stand...
Oil
Brutalist Wall Sculpture
Located in Milford, NH
A wonderful abstract brutalist welded and torch cut steel wall sculpture with many points and a burnished finish, by 20th century California artist Tony Melendy...
Metal, Steel
Costal Impressions - The Lone Cypress, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
In his signature style, artist John Jaster paints this famous tree in Pebble Beach, California. Overlooking Carmel Bay, The Lone Cypress...
Acrylic