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.
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Charcoal, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
20th Century Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Linen, Archival Ink, Spray Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Clay, Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Abstract Figurative Paintings
Gouache
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Screen, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Mixed Media, Oil, Board
Artist Comments
A poignant image of a young woman lying in bed by artist Onelio Marrero. She is clothed in white laying on a plush bed looking wistfu...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
Two figures emerge from a vivid landscape of oranges, purples, and blues. Bold patterns and mark-making give the scene a mysterious, dreamlike feel. The ambig...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Clay, Acrylic
1960s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Pastel, Encaustic, Gouache
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Wax, Oil, Acrylic, Archival Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Gold Leaf
Artist Comments
Two figures stand in a hazy scene. Bold yellow strokes surround the smaller form, with marks suggesting birds in flight above. The larger one merges with brig...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic
1990s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Gouache
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic, Pencil, Canvas, Oil Pastel
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Gold Leaf
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, 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
Paper, Oil, Canvas
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic, Photographic Paper
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Mixed Media, Oil, Archival Paper, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Gold Leaf
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Wax, Oil, Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Ink, Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Wax, Oil, Acrylic, Archival Paper
1950s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil, Cardboard
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Clay, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Silver
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Concrete
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic, Archival Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Wood, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Oil Pastel
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Charcoal, Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Plywood, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Archival Paper, Oil, Wax, Acrylic