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.
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1950s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil, Fiberboard
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Linen, Paint, Oil
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Linen, Charcoal, Oil
20th Century Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1950s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Acrylic, Rag Paper
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1680s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1970s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Epoxy Resin, Oil, Linen
Late 20th Century Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Fabric, Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Acrylic
1960s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Paper, Oil
1960s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil, Masonite
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1990s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil, Cardboard
Mid-20th Century Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
1980s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil, Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Bold, expressive strokes present an abstract interpretation of a flower. Thick paint and dynamic application evoke a sense of vitality and spontaneity. Subtle h...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Acrylic, Watercolor, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Charcoal, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Acrylic
20th Century Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Acrylic, Pastel, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil, Canvas
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
1970s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic, Gouache
1950s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
1990s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil, Cardboard
20th Century Abstract Still-life Paintings
Paper, Pastel
Artist Comments
This series of paintings is based on nature.
About the Artist
Krispen Spencer’s artistic process is about more than putting paint to canvas. “Paint...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Acrylic
Late 20th Century Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1960s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Gold Leaf, Metal
Mid-20th Century Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil