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.
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Oil, Canvas
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Early 2000s Abstract Animal Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Gouache, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Oil, Panel
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Mixed Media, Wood Panel
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Early 2000s Abstract Animal Paintings
Mixed Media, Cardboard
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Metal
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Acrylic, Board
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
Artist Comments
"This girl was posing for me on a trip to visit a ranch in Pagosa Springs, Colorado," shares artist Heather Foster. "She looked, to me, as if she was wearing black knee socks...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Metal
Artist Comments
"I'm a tough guy, don't mess with me," narrates artist Heather Foster on how she imagines the horse's thoughts. She paints the robust stallion in her alluring...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Paintings
Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Heather Foster paints an impressionist portrait of a brown horse. She takes inspiration from a colt she witnessed at Bishop's Lodge, a small complex on the outskirts of Santa Fe...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Paintings
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 John Jaster paints an impressionistic painting of two White Mandarin ducks. He displays them with their reflections swirling in the water. With intrica...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Paintings
Acrylic
Artist Comments
In this fantastical jungle scene, artist Miranda Gamel uses tigers as a symbol of strength and leadership. "Placing the tigers in the fire is meant to bring c...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
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
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
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...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Oil, Acrylic, Panel
Artist Comments
"This is a calf from a herd I met in Pagosa Springs, Colorado," shares artist Heather Foster. "I wanted the bold underpainting to show through and give a dist...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Paintings
Acrylic
Artist Comments
A stoic portrait of a cheetah looking out over a glowing sunset, with the animal's cool and collected pose amplified by the painterly surroundings. "This piece gives a sense of the calm before the storm - of inner peace," says artist Miranda Gamel. "The cheetah is looking out into the fast landscape, looking for a sign, all while knowing there will be one to find."
About the Artist
The daughter of two artists, Miranda Gamel grew up with artistic aspirations. “When I was young, I couldn’t imagine that I would be anything else… it only seemed natural,” she says. She further developed her skills with her teachers (and fellow UGallery artists) John and Elli Milan. Miranda’s paintings exist on the edge of the surreal and the fantastical while remaining grounded in human emotion. Each painting, through its dynamic imagery, conveys the spirit embodied by the composition’s subject. Miranda’s ultimate goal is to portray each individual “being their true, raw, authentic self.”
Words that describe this painting: cheetah, wildlife, big cat, desert, sunset, animal, calm, expressionism, animals, non-representational, oil painting, purple
New Horizon...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Ink, Handmade Paper
1990s Abstract Animal Paintings
Paper, Tempera
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Oil, Panel
1980s Abstract Animal Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Screen
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Early 2000s Abstract Animal Paintings
Mixed Media, Cardboard
Early 2000s Abstract Animal Paintings
Gesso, Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Epoxy Resin, Oil
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1960s Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Watercolor, Gouache
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Paintings
Metal
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Mixed Media, Handmade Paper, Monotype
Early 2000s Abstract Animal Paintings
Mixed Media, Paper
1990s Abstract Animal Paintings
Gouache
1990s Abstract Animal Paintings
Gouache
2010s Abstract Animal Paintings
Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic
