Abstract Abstract Paintings
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.
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1960s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Archival Pigment
Late 20th Century Abstract Abstract Paintings
Oil
1940s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Paper, Oil
Early 20th Century Abstract Abstract Paintings
Watercolor, Rag Paper, Pencil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1960s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Abstract Paintings
Paper, Gouache
1970s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Pigment
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Oil, Board
Artist Comments
Artist Alicia Dunn presents an abstract vista of the Northern California coast. Tantalizing hues of turquoise engulf the sedate coast. Alicia paints vibrant a...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Spray Paint, Polymer, Polymer
Late 20th Century Abstract Abstract Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Gesso, Canvas, Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Paintings
Paper, Charcoal, Gouache
Artist Comments
Part of Pat Forbes's ongoing "Journey" series of modern abstract paintings, evoking our colorful and complex life paths. "Life offers us many choices," she sa...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Spray Paint, Acrylic, Handmade Paper
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Acrylic, Cardboard
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Acrylic Polymer, Ink, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1950s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1950s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Spray Paint, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Thread, Acrylic, Pencil
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Paint, Oil
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Oil, Acrylic
Artist Comments
"This painting is of a narrow road to Pickens County in South Carolina through the trees and hills," shares artist Kip Decker. In the dramatic colorful scene,...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
Late 20th Century Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Paintings
Ballpoint Pen
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Charcoal, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Wood, Acrylic, Spray Paint, Pencil
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Acrylic, Handmade Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings
Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic
1950s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings
Resin, Oil
1960s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1960s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Acrylic, Wood Panel, Resin, Pencil
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings
Plastic, Mixed Media, Permanent Marker
1970s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1970s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Acrylic Polymer, Ink, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
1960s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Gouache, Handmade Paper, Mixed Media, Pencil
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Wood, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil