Abstract 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 Paintings
Oil
1950s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Acrylic, Archival Paper
Late 20th Century Abstract Paintings
Gouache
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Glaze, Oil Crayon, Acrylic, Pencil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media
Late 20th Century Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1990s Abstract Paintings
Oil, Board
1970s Abstract Paintings
Paper
2010s Abstract Paintings
Oil Pastel, Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Craig Rouse depicts a minimalist abstract scene expressed with a limited color-blocked palette of 14 colors. Part of his NAR series, meaning No Assembl...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
Late 20th Century Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Wood, Dye, Acrylic, Wood Panel
Artist Comments
A traditional farmstead basks in the bright winter day in artist Robert Hofherr's expressionist piece. He emphasizes painterly strokes and bold hues, drawing ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
Artist Comments
A glowing atmospheric sunset over a green landscape. The soft light reflects on the river running through the middle of the scene. "Sunset colors are kind to ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1940s Abstract Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Wood, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Onelio Marrero paints this piece based on a visit to Rome, Italy. He depicts a scene of Constantine's Arch and The Colosseum on a warm late May...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Paint, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
A flowing, expressionist portrait of woman lost in dance and embracing the promise of a new day. "I created this painting as 2020 drew to a close and 2021 daw...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Mixed Media, Oil, Archival Paper
1980s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
1960s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Paintings
Gouache
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Gold Leaf
1970s Abstract Paintings
Mixed Media, Canvas, Resin, Alkyd
1980s Abstract Paintings
Ink, Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Abstract Paintings
Oil, Board
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Oil
1970s Abstract Paintings
Watercolor
Late 20th Century Abstract Paintings
Gouache
Artist Comments
In his distinct style of impressionism, artist Onelio Marrero displays a man in a suit reading the news as he sits by an empty dining hall. He bases the piece on sketches of a Back Bay, Boston restaurant named Bistro du Midi. He creates a narrative of an imaginary proprietor perusing a newspaper before the establishment opens and the clients fill the place. Onelio gives the viewer a sense of the décor and light streaming through the windows - beyond it, a hint of the Boston Public Garden.
About the Artist
Artist Onelio Marrero paints impressionist city scenes of everyday life. He captures the romanticism of New York City, from the picturesque fountains in Central Park to a glistening city street on a rainy afternoon. He creates a sense of nostalgia and intimacy with his work, offering the feeling that you have visited this particular scene before. “Each play of light, each texture, and each movement of a figure can have a captivating effect on me,†says Onelio. He studied at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art where he mastered discerning color and values, giving his work a more spontaneous appearance. Onelio’s work is an appreciation for beauty in all of its greatest forms; nature, art, and people.
Words that describe this painting: restaurant, newspaper, bistro, cafe, table, Boston, Public Garden, Boston Common...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Wood, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Late 20th Century Abstract Paintings
Gouache
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Paintings
Mixed Media, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Wax, Encaustic, Oil
Artist Comments
An autumn mountain meadow glows in evening light, presiding over a small town with a prominent chapel. "The Stowe Community Ch...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Paper, India Ink
Artist Comments
Artist Janet Dyer captures a verdant meadow on a cloudy day in a delightful palette of varied greens interjected with bright orange. The sky is finished off w...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
Late 20th Century Abstract Paintings
Oil, Board
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Oil
Abstract paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
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