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.
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1940s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil, Linen
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
1980s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Wax, Oil
1970s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Watercolor, Archival Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Enamel
1960s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil, Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Ink, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Mixed Media, Oil, Archival Paper
Early 2000s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Cardboard, Oil Pastel, Acrylic
1970s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Charcoal, Watercolor
Artist Comments
A figure blends into a sea of blues and greens. Bright shapes in yellows, oranges, and pinks provide an intriguing counterpoint to the deeper colors. Artist R...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Ink, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Mixed Media, Oil, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Resin, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic, Cardboard, Pencil, Color Pencil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic, Cardboard, Pencil, Color Pencil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Ink, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas
Artist Comments
A young girl walks along the beach in search of shells buried in the sand. Artist Claudia Verciani used the light coming off of the water to illuminate the ch...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Found Objects, Acrylic, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Linen, Archival Ink, Spray Paint, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic, Oil
Artist Comments
A poised swimmer confidently sits at the edge of a diving board. Rather than a sunny beach, this painting exudes a dramatic and mysterious night scene. Bold con...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Cotton, Wax, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Leather, Acrylic, Panel, Fiberboard, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic
1970s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache, Handmade Paper
Mid-20th Century Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil, Board, Gouache
Mid-20th Century Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Acrylic
Early 2000s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Paper, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil Pastel, Acrylic, Archival Paper
Mid-20th Century Abstract Figurative Paintings
Tempera, Masonite
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Screen, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Linen, Ink, Mixed Media
1990s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Tempera, Plastic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil
1980s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil, Cardboard, Canvas
Mid-20th Century Abstract Figurative Paintings
Oil