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.
Early 2000s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Ink, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic
Early 2000s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Ink, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Bronze
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Acrylic Polymer, Ink, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Ink, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Oil Pastel, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Bronze
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Ink, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic, Ink
Late 20th Century Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Oil Pastel, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Paint, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Wood, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Oil, Spray Paint, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1940s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Watercolor, Archival Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Watercolor, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Acrylic, Archival Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Acrylic, Handmade Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Acrylic, Archival Paper
20th Century Abstract Paintings
Oil, Cardboard
Early 2000s Abstract Paintings
Panel, Acrylic
Late 20th Century Abstract Paintings
Acrylic, Board
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
"This piece is a departure from my usual palette and reflects a desire to infuse lightness and joy into the profound uncertainty of life," says artist Robin Oku...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
Artist Comments
"For a few brief moments on the south rim, the morning sun lights up the canyon walls like neon while casting blue shadows into its depths," says artist Cryst...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Oil Pastel, House Paint, Acrylic, Carbon Pencil, Color Pencil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1930s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Acrylic Polymer, Ink, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
1970s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Acrylic, Board
Late 20th Century Abstract Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Oil