Abstract Figurative 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.
1950s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Spray Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Part of artist Onelio Marrero's ongoing series featuring museum interiors and gallery-goers. In this piece, Onelio depicts a woman sketching in the Baroque coll...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
1970s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Nava Lundy displays the profile of a confident young woman imposed on the sun. She depicts her strength and exuberance echoing from her background. A bea...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic
Artist Comments
"This painting is about three friends or siblings enjoying the sunshine," says artist Gail Ragains. "It bursts with California colors. Minimal on detail but a...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic
1990s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Warren Keating connects two expressive overhead scenes of a person holding an umbrella and a cowboy strutting forward. Their cool blue shadows converge a...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Oil
1960s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Sharon Sieben presents an expressive portrait of a woman in warm tones of red, maroon, beige, and ochre. With her eyes closed and head tilted forward, sh...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic
Late 20th Century Abstract Figurative Paintings
Masonite, Acrylic, Board
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1990s Abstract Figurative Paintings
India Ink, Canvas, Acrylic, Cardboard
Early 2000s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Ink, Pen
Early 2000s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Ink, Pen, Paper
Artist Comments
A defined portrait of a man in painterly strokes by artist Sharon Sieben. His gaze holds profound contemplation with creased brows low on his forehead. "He is d...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil Pastel, Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Mixed Media, Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Late 20th Century Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas
Early 2000s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil Pastel, Acrylic, Cardboard
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil, Board
Early 2000s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil, Board
1990s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil, Oil Crayon, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Gesso, Canvas, Oil
1990s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Mixed Media, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Linen, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Chalk, Charcoal, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic, Fabric
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
1990s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Conté, Paper
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
A flowing, expressionist portrait of woman lost in dance and embracing the promise of a new day. "I created this painting as 2020 drew to a close and 2021 daw...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Late 20th Century Abstract Figurative Paintings
Gouache
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil