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.
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1990s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil, Board, Glass
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
1970s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Charcoal, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Abstract Figurative Paintings
Gouache
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Mixed Media, Oil, Canvas
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Ink, Acrylic, Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Board, Canvas, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Mixed Media, Oil, Archival Paper, Glass
Late 20th Century Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic, Archival Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil, Panel
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Clay, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Onelio Marrero paints a tender mother and daughter moment in a river. Created as a figurative study for a larger painting of the same setting. The subj...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Linen, Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Robin weaves a dynamic interplay of color, line, and shape in this abstract image of a woman. Fused with shades of red, the piece achieves a unique sim...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil, Acrylic, Paper, Ink, Watercolor
Artist Comments
Walking around Florence, Italy, artist Onelio Marrero came across a charismatic elderly couple asking for directions. Onelio fondly remembers the memory and m...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic, Cardboard
1990s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Mixed Media, Rag Paper
Mid-20th Century Abstract Figurative Paintings
Gouache
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
1960s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Spray Paint, Acrylic
1950s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Linen, Ink, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic, Handmade Paper, Permanent Marker
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil