Abstract Still-life 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 Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic, Pastel
1980s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil, Cardboard
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic, Paint
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Masonite, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil, Board
Early 2000s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil, Panel
Artist Comments
Honeysuckles entice with their delicate white and creamy yellow petals with hints of pink. Their soft, summer colors pop against the lush green background. Th...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Lisa Nielsen captures a cool and soft atmosphere in this still-life piece. She expresses freedom to experiment with the arrangement of elements by adding glasses, teacups, and ribbons. Lisa infuses shades of blue throughout the entire composition. She adds subtle contrasts of color for easiness to the eyes.
About the Artist
There;s a certain innocent joy that comes through in Lisa Nielsen;s artwork. She finds beauty in the everyday and often ordinary, whether it;s painting a pretty girl in the garden or spending time with her daughter at Chipotle - and let;s face it, what isn;t beautiful about a burrito bowl? Lisa likes to say she captures moments in the journey of life. What we see in her art is all part of her life philosophy: to be still, to breathe, to exhaust the small moment.
Words that describe this painting: still life, cool, soft, glass, flowers, ribbon, teacup, small, rose, impressionism, impressionism, still life, oil painting
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
20th Century Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Pastel, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Kip Decker pictures a stunning bouquet of red flowers with an expressionist approach. The dark crimson petals kindle a burning sense of tender romance....
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Acrylic
20th Century Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Wood, Oil
Artist Comments
An explosion of bright colors evokes a lively garden. The fluorescent pink and bright yellow colors bring a touch of modernity and dynamism, perfectly balanc...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Late 20th Century Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Splash and drips of paint represent nature in this abstract floral landscape. It features neutral colors of taupe, white, and yellow, with pops of red. The ar...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Acrylic
Artist Comments
Painting from life, artist Mary Pratt creates a clear glass vase with light reflecting on its shiny surface. With pronounced brushstrokes, Mary sets a joyful ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist McGarren Flack paints a decadent chocolate mint cupcake on a solid white background. “Who doesn't like sweets?†asks McGarren. In his Sweets series...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil, Board
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Early 2000s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil, Panel
1950s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
1970s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil