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.
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
A vibrant still life featuring a colorful patterned vase with lush greens and flora by artist Claudia Verciani. "This still life was done in my studio with a high contrast light above to depict shadows and light," explains Claudia. Bright blue lines...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1970s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
An abstract garden exists at the crossroads of reality and imagination, where colorful flowers stretch across aqua and green fields. Paint drips suggest dista...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Acrylic
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
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Board
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
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
Mid-20th Century Abstract Still-life Paintings
Paper, Pastel
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Sherri Aldawood encountered these glowing waterlilies in a fountain at Mission San Juan Capistrano in California. Soft morning light warms the pink flowers and lilypads while gentle reflections echo across the water. Sherri layered greens in a loose impressionist style to bring dimension and texture to the scene.
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: flowers, floral, waterlily, San Juan Capistrano, California, fountain, nature, water, impressionism, Monet, lily, pond, impressionism, flora, representational, oil painting, green
Three Water Lillies...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
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
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Charcoal, Acrylic, Paper
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Mixed Media, Encaustic, Board
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Acrylic, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
A vibrant bouquet of red and turquoise flowers fill the composition in this joyful still life. Artist Jeff Fleming describes his painting style as kinetic impressionism. Jeff started the piece with a pencil sketch on the canvas, then with gloved hands, he applied oil paint using his fingers. Jeff says he created the energetic flowers and vase in this scene purely from imagination.
About the Artist
Artist Jeff Fleming uses fingerpainting to create exuberant portraits of dogs. Growing up in Southern California, Jeff was first introduced to fingerpainting in kindergarten. He painted through high school and college and won several art awards, including Best of Show in a city wide student competition. After graduating with a degree in journalism and advertising, he went to work as an art director. For the next 40 years, he created print, radio and television ads for a number of top agencies. "After retiring in 2019, the clouds of stress and pressure cleared and allowed me to set my creative energy free," says Jeff. He began developing new techniques focused on the excitement and energy of painting. Today, he uses a variety of methods and tools, including fingerpainting wearing nitrile gloves, traditional paint brushes, bamboo shish kebab sticks, kite string, spraypaint and splattering. While working, Jeff always listens to music, including Broadway musicals, dance music and rhythmic Hawaiian tunes.
Words that describe this painting: impressionism, flowers, vase, spring, blooms, Iris Scott...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Natalie George demonstrates an abstract expression of an abundant garden with clouds of flowers. Vibrant specks of magenta and orange hues flow in vigo...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Acrylic
Artist Comments
Inspired by nature's blooms, artist Lisa Elley rendered this piece solely with the use of a palette knife. She creates thick tangible textures, leaping off th...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Plexiglass, Acrylic
1940s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Still-life Paintings
Ink, Mixed Media, Watercolor, Pen
Late 20th Century Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Acrylic
1980s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil, Cardboard
Artist Comments
"Spring is a wonderful time to paint flowers," says artist Oksana Johnson. "Everything is blooming and the colors all around are inspiring. In this compositio...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
This series of paintings is based on nature.
About the Artist
Krispen Spencer’s artistic process is about more than ...
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
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
