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.
1950s Abstract Paintings
Oil, Canvas
1950s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Charcoal, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Ink, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Mixed Media, Oil, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Linen, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Pigment
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
A neighborhood transforms into a stylized vision. Geometric lines and shapes suggest houses and trees, while a dominant blue field contrasts with bright and m...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Ink, Handmade Paper
2010s Abstract Paintings
Acrylic, Cardboard
1960s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Encaustic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Encaustic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Clay, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
1970s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Ink, Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Encaustic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Cotton, Wax, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Linen, Oil, Acrylic
1980s Abstract Paintings
Mixed Media, Laid Paper
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Charcoal, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Paintings
Clay, Acrylic
1970s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Artist Comments
An abstract botanical piece emerges from expressive strokes of earthy and soft colors. The composition merges spontaneity with precision, evoking a sense of mot...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Paper, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Acrylic, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Oil, Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1970s Abstract Paintings
Oil, Graphite
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Oil
Early 2000s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1950s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Ink, Pigment
2010s Abstract Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Ink, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Gesso, Charcoal, Oil Crayon, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Paper, Oil Crayon, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Pencil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Varnish, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Abstract Paintings
Oil, Canvas
2010s Abstract Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Marble, Gold Leaf
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Gold
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1970s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Acrylic, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
1960s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Gold Leaf
Mid-20th Century Abstract Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Oil