Abstract Animal 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.
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic, Oil
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Ink, Rice Paper
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Ink, Rice Paper
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Ink, Paper
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Clay, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Oil, Acrylic
1960s Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Mylar, Gouache, Graphite
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Mylar, Graphite, Gouache
1950s Abstract Animal Paintings
Ink, Acrylic, Illustration Board
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Paintings
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Paintings
Wood, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Acrylic, Board
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Clay, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic, Graphite
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Canvas, Digital
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1940s Abstract Animal Paintings
Gouache
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas
Artist Comments
"I had to have my roof replaced last year and to my dismay, a cardinal couple had made a nest on a tree limb that would have been in the way of the roofers taking off old shingles," shares artist Judy Mackey...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Acrylic
Late 20th Century Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1980s Abstract Animal Paintings
Linen, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Acrylic, Board
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1960s Abstract Animal Paintings
Paint, Paper
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Heather Foster paints a pair of horses along a road that leads to the Galisteo Dam in New Mexico. "The light was amazing at that time of day," recalls Heather. She combines hues that accentuate the cool shadows and warm colors that were quickly fading with the sun. Masterful plays of shadow and light rule this outback acrylic piece.
About the Artist
Artist Heather Foster captures an enduring image of the West. She paints the dramatic landscapes and stalwart animals she encounters on her adventures to ranches and rodeos. Heather says she has always known she wanted to be an artist. As a child, she spent her weekends and summers riding the bus into Philadelphia to attend art classes at Philadelphia College of Art, Moore College of Art, and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Over the years, she's moved around the country quite a bit and done many jobs - everything from driving a pedicab (a giant tricycle that transports passengers) to art restoration and conservation (for one project, she unstretched and then restretched a $17 million painting that would not fit through the door of the buyer's house). The one constant though, no matter where she lived or what side jobs she held, she always made space and time to paint. Today, she works from a home studio in Santa Fe...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Oil, Watercolor, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Acrylic, Watercolor, Rag Paper, Monoprint
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Acrylic, Watercolor, Rag Paper, Monoprint
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Late 20th Century Abstract Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
This painting was inspired by the idea that we are shaped by outside forces, but remain unchanged, we persist in the face of adversity. It is what makes us human. My energetic oil paintings of stallions explore and illustrate movement through nature. This work represents an immigrant journey or strength and perseverance. I incorporate both contemporary (watercolor) and traditional (ink calligraphy) painting styles into this series.
About the Artist
Art has been with Shao Yuan Zhang for the majority of his extraordinary, and at times difficult, life journey. Raised in communist China...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Kira Yustak blends impressionist and primitive approaches in her portrait of a blackbird amongst tall cattails. She draws inspiration from observing them in waterways and marshy areas nearby. Kira paints it larger than life to highlight the feathers and make a bold statement. Her style bears influence from natural history illustrations...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Acrylic
1990s Abstract Animal Paintings
Pigment
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil
