Abstract More Art
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.
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Muslin, Wood, Paper
1960s Abstract More Art
Oil
2010s Abstract More Art
Acrylic
2010s Abstract More Art
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Acrylic
2010s Abstract More Art
Steel
1960s Abstract More Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Muslin, Wood, Cotton, Thread, Dye
Early 2000s Abstract More Art
Screen
Artist Comments
In her signature deep impasto style, artist Lisa Elley paints an emerald birch forest emerging in the sunshine. With marked palette knife work, she imparts ge...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Oil
2010s Abstract More Art
Canvas, Glitter, Acrylic
2010s Abstract More Art
Leather, Linen
2010s Abstract More Art
Mirror
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Fabric, Silk, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Canvas, Acrylic, Gouache
Artist Comments
Artist Mandy Main paints a vast Tuscan countryside. A field of red poppies dazzles in the foreground as masses of impossibly bright yellow rapeseed flourish in the background. Mandy paints the nearby hills shrouded in vibrant blues and greens as the far mountains recede into the distance with gray tones. She suggests natural elements throughout the scene with loose brushwork.
About the Artist
Mandy Main is an art historian and landscape painter based in the Southern California desert. She has long been passionate about 19th Century American landscape paintings...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Oil
Early 2000s Abstract More Art
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Wood, Rice Paper, Canvas, Silk, Acrylic
2010s Abstract More Art
Fabric, Textile, Linen
2010s Abstract More Art
Fabric, Textile, Linen
2010s Abstract More Art
Paper, Ink
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Metal
1960s Abstract More Art
Metal
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...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Acrylic
2010s Abstract More Art
Textile, Canvas, Paper, Mixed Media, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Metal, Steel
2010s Abstract More Art
Fabric, Thread, Plastic, Pins
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Muslin, Wood, Paper
Mid-20th Century Abstract More Art
Watercolor, Gouache, Archival Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract More Art
Leather, Mirror
1990s Abstract More Art
Monotype, Monoprint
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract More Art
Archival Pigment
1970s Abstract More Art
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Yellow victorian on a quiet street in Cary, North Carolina. Bright spring light shines from the right, illuminating the new growth in the yard and casting an ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Acrylic
Early 2000s Abstract More Art
Screen
2010s Abstract More Art
Resin, Epoxy Resin, Wood
2010s Abstract More Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract More Art
Archival Pigment
2010s Abstract More Art
Archival Pigment
2010s Abstract More Art
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract More Art
Canvas, Acrylic, Glitter, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract More Art
Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract More Art
Photogram
2010s Abstract More Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract More Art
Canvas, Acrylic, Oil Pastel, Pencil
2010s Abstract More Art
Paper, Ink, Giclée
Artist Comments
Artist Shuxing Fan displays a scene of a suburban neighborhood after a snowfall. Painting in classical realism, he details the envi...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Oil
2010s Abstract More Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract More Art
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract More Art
Paper, Found Objects, Black and White
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Steel
20th Century Abstract More Art
Stoneware