Abstract Landscape 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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Artist Comments
Artist George Peebles embodies solemnity in a calm and pensive seascape. He envisions the composition reflecting on a dream by the water. Deep ocean waves rhythmically drift along the tantalizing vista. George displays the brief electric moment in nature entirely from his imagination.
About the Artist
Award-winning artist, George Peebles specializes in contemporary panoramic scenes. Breathtaking combinations of brilliant hues and gradients of rich skies map out his paintings. “My art is a reflection of the place inside each of us where we connect to nature,†says George. Based in Michigan, he draws inspiration from electric moments within his environment. Each stroke is an inward expression of his emotions as he paints from memory. George, being colorblind views his work as a lifelong process that leads him to new concepts and ideas best expressed on his canvas. When he’s out of the studio, George works as a chef at their local hospital. His work is represented in eighteen healthcare facilities.
Words that describe this painting: water, sky, clouds, dreamy, moody, dramatic, waves, water, seascape, expressionism, abstract, oilpaint, calm, tranquil, still, peaceful, expressionism, seascape, oil painting
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
1950s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Charcoal, Oil, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Elizabeth Garat pictures a dramatic late afternoon sun in the summer. An impressionist landscape of California during the golden hour. Majestic purple mountains stand behind a golden glowing field. Sunlit trees shade cool lavenders in the foreground, displaying a balanced relationship between shadow and light...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
1980s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas
Artist Comments
A dramatic winter scene of an aspen forest in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, outside of Santa Fe. "There is an amazing point during a snowstorm as clouds are...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Alicia Dunn demonstrates a soulful and dramatic landscape in her signature abstract approach. Cool blue gradients expand into a panoramic vista. Alicia...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Patrick Duffy displays his signature linear marks in this composition. He paints solid blocks of black and gray, mimicking the silhouette of towering m...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Paper, Oil Crayon, Oil Pastel, Wax Crayon, Mixed Media, Wax, Oil, Archiv...
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil Crayon, Oil
1940s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil, Gouache
Early 2000s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Masonite, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas
1960s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
"This painting was inspired by beautiful Vernazza, one of my favorite villages of Cinque Terre," shares artist Oksana Johnson. "On a bright sunny day, Vernazz...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
1960s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Paper, Oil, Spray Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1950s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Resin, Acrylic, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
1940s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1980s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Naoko says this painting is meant to evoke the feeling of going through a narrow path, and a little pond surrounded by trees appears. The closest two trees cr...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
20th Century Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Landscape Paintings
Encaustic
1950s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil, Acrylic
Artist Comments
"Derived from a personal photo, this semi-abstract work attempts to recreate a sunlit autumn stream in Fauvist color and exuberant paint handling," says artis...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
1950s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Samuel Pretorius paints a bright sunny day at Shark Fin Cove near Santa Cruz in impressionism. A breathtaking cove stre...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Janet Dyer exhibits a picturesque view of a summer sunset in Provence. Groves of trees flourish in the evergreen landscape. She captures the distinct f...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1960s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
"Monet's Garden in Giverny, France - just a delightful train ride outside of Paris - never fails to inspire artists just as it was intended to do when it was ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
1970s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
1960s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Janet Dyer pictures an expressionist sun setting behind lakeside mountains. She captures the warm orange glow of the last moments of its descent. "Softly the evening came with the sunset," quotes Janet. In her trademark style of minimalist strokes, she envisions Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's iconic poetry.
About the Artist
Janet Dyer doesn’t like to spend too much time talking about her art, as she’d rather be creating it. She doesn’t have an artist statement, the traditional statement of purpose crafted by visual artists to explain their method. On becoming an artist, Janet simply states, “I picked up some crayons and pencils and brushes and kept using them.†She believes the process of creating art is equal in importance to the final product. The artist enjoys relinquishing control of her paintings to find delightful surprises in her so-called “mistakes.†Janet's expressively gestural yet bucolic landscapes are a testament to the success of her method.
Words that describe this painting: nature, spring, forsythia, yellow, river, water, trees, reflection, abstract, acrylicpaint, sunset, expressionism, expressionism, nature, acrylic painting, green
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
Inspired by one of my favorite views after climbing a challenging peak in the northeast Muddy Mountains. There were dramatic storm clouds swirling about and w...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
