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.
Find original abstract paintings, sculptures, prints and other art on 1stDibs.
Artist Comments
Artist Janet Dyer displays an expressionist landscape view of a Mediterranean forest. She paints the temperate shrubland on a warm summer afternoon. Janet pai...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
1960s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Paper, Gouache
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Resin, Acrylic, Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Paint, Oil, Panel
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
Artist Comments
Blues and reds paint a picture of fog drifting through canyons, slowly dancing to and from the ocean. The title of the painting conveys its narrative, capturi...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Clay, Acrylic
Late 20th Century Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Spray Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Linen, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Soft and subtle colors blend to form an abstract landscape. Hints of blue and white suggest a sky, while shades of yellow, red, and green evoke a meadow below...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
Part of artist Onelio Marrero's latest series exploring the terrain and geology of the diverse northwest of New Jersey. "This painting was executed from several plein air oil studies," shares Onelio. He takes advantage of the rich textures and colors he encounters during his painting hikes. Using rich impasto and a skillful palette knife, Onelio works to capture the effect of the boulders diminishing in size as the stream meanders into the upper reaches of the space.
About the Artist
Onelio Marrero paints city scenes of everyday life. In an impressionistic style he captures the romanticism of New York City, the picturesque fountains in Central Park and the wet city streets after a rainy afternoon. His use of warm tones creates a sense of nostalgia and the feeling that you have visited or seen this particular scene before. Onelio will often paint from direct observation, or he will work from a combination of photographs and combine numerous sources into one piece. In this way his work combines reality with fantasy, creating a new story with each painting. His work captures an appreciation for beauty in all of its greatest forms; nature, art, and people.
Words that describe this painting: pool, stream, river, brook, rock, boulder, terrain, geology, woods, autumn, winter, tree, trees, hike, hiking, nature, plein air, oilpaint, nature, sunlight, impressionism, impressionism, nature, oil painting, blue
Rough Terrain Cool Water...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Early 20th Century Abstract Landscape Paintings
Watercolor, Rag Paper, Pencil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Paint, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Paint, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist James Hartman displays an enchanting view of Mt. Diablo in the Bay Area. A path opens between a grove of trees leading into the tall mountains. James represents the different natural elements of the composition in a vibrant color palette. Painted en plein air, James says of the medium, "I like using oils for their buttery consistency."
About the Artist
When James Hartman was in art school, he became fascinated with the Society of Six...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
Waves roll in while the sun sits high in the sky. Inspired by a short winter visit to Florida, artist Judy Mackey creates a serene ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
Early 2000s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic, Watercolor, Canvas, Cotton Canvas
1980s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
20th Century Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
1970s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil, Canvas
Artist Comments
As the sun sets behind the distant ridge, the fork in the river floods with warm hues from overhead. "I loved the way the light bounced on this southern river...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
A captivatingly serene atmosphere unfolds in this abstract painting, created by layering pink and blue tones, topped with white. The palette of transparent an...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
