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
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1990s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Spray Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Oil, Board, Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Abstract Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Color Pencil, Crayon, Wax Crayon
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Pastel, Raw Linen, Acrylic, Graphite
Late 20th Century Abstract Paintings
Paper, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Dye, Ink, Acrylic, Canvas
2010s Abstract Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Archival Ink, Watercolor, Graphite
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
1960s Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Metal
2010s Abstract Paintings
Fabric, Oil Crayon, Acrylic
1980s Abstract Paintings
Paper, Acrylic, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Paper, Acrylic, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic, Oil Pastel, Pen
2010s Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Clay, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
1980s Abstract Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Metal
2010s Abstract Paintings
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1960s Abstract Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Marble
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Lisa Carney paints an arresting field of purple wildflowers. As part of her ongoing series of floral abstracts, Lisa uses drip and splatter techniques to express the blooms blanketing the landscape. She aptly balances the color scheme with touches of soft blue to the flowers and the warm, soothing background.
About the Artist
Lisa Carney draws her inspiration from the earth's layers and the history they hold. The drips, splashes, scrapes and scratches in her art happen spontaneously and come together to create a cohesive whole. She began to craft a more organic feel in her works after noticing the texture in her works resembled plant roots...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Enamel
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Oil Pastel, Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache
2010s Abstract Paintings
Oil Pastel, Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Paintings
Spray Paint, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1940s Abstract Paintings
Oil, Gouache