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, Mixed Media, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Gold Leaf
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic, Cardboard, Pencil, Color Pencil
1980s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Ink, Acrylic
1990s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Gouache
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Screen, Oil
1980s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Sherri posed her model, Bridget, in her backyard garden just as the sun was setting to capture the dramatic backlighting. Golden light silhouettes the figure and works with the shaded areas to build three dimensionality. A timeless and gentle portrait in the warm Arizona light.
About the Artist
Sherri Aldawood didn't intend to always paint flowers, but over time her love of gardens started to permeate her art. She focuses on the light and color of the flowers on the canvas. Sherri prefers alla prima, working with wet layers of paint instead of letting them dry. She keeps the paint as wet as possible by using walnut and clove oil to extend the drying time.
Words that describe this painting: woman, female, feminine, light, evening, garden, impressionistic, figure, figurative, person, people, Sargent, Sorolla, impressionism, people, representational, oil painting, green
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Linen, Acrylic
Late 20th Century Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1980s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Linen, Oil
1960s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Gold Leaf
Mid-20th Century Abstract Figurative Paintings
Masonite, Paper, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Graphite, Mixed Media, Oil
1970s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache, Handmade Paper
Early 2000s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic
1990s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Oil, Board
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil, Canvas
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Clay, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic, Pen, Oil, Laid Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Clay, Acrylic
1980s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil, Acrylic, Rag Paper
Mid-20th Century Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Linen, Archival Ink, Spray Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil Crayon, Oil, Board
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil, Canvas
Mid-20th Century Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Charcoal, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Early 2000s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Clay, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic, Wood Panel
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Masonite, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Ink
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Mixed Media, Cardboard
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Mixed Media, Oil, Archival Paper, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Board, Canvas, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Abstract Figurative Paintings
Gouache
1990s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic, Cardboard, India Ink
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
Early 2000s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
1990s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil, Gouache
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
1990s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Gouache
Artist Comments
This painting was inspired by the view from my hotel balcony in Paris of the pedestrian below me, trying to button his coat as he walked against the wind. I created the movement of the walking figure in expressive brushstrokes that emulate pixelation and motion. I use the unique aerial perspective to turn the human figure into a more abstract shape and to emphasize the movement of the figure.
About the Artist
Warren Keating's paintings start with documentation. He captures subjects on video from birds-eye views, digitizes the film on his computer and, finally, paints them on canvas in an active style he describes as Pixel Impressionism. He merges artistic elements of the 20th Century with 21st Century technology. Warren credits Futurism as well as Richard Diebenkorn and Willem de Kooning as influences in his paintings. Fun fact: Warren’s inspiration for this series came from a vacation to Paris where he photographed passersby from his hotel balcony in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
Blue Monday...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Clay, Acrylic
Artist Comments
"A young woman appears in an abstracted flowery dress on a very luminous background," explains artist Diana Elena Chelaru. "Tones of greens, yellow, and blue ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic