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Abstract Paintings

ABSTRACT STYLE

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.

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Style: Abstract
One Rhythm
One Rhythm

One Rhythm

Located in Zofingen, AG

One Rhythm At dawn, the world seems to pause between sleep and awakening. The heroine of this work feels herself to be part of a unified world, where humanity and nature exist within...

Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Oil

Abstract 2446
Abstract 2446

Alex SenchenkoAbstract 2446, 2024

$1,783Sale Price|20% Off

Abstract 2446

By Alex Senchenko

Located in Zofingen, AG

In this vibrant creation, I've layered acrylics to evoke a sense of dynamic motion and emotional depth. The bold streaks and delicate drips represent the perpetual dance between chao...

Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Julia Martins Miranda Large Abstract Oil Painting Warm Ochre Terracotta Tones
Julia Martins Miranda Large Abstract Oil Painting Warm Ochre Terracotta Tones

Julia Martins Miranda Large Abstract Oil Painting Warm Ochre Terracotta Tones

By Julia Martins Miranda

Located in Barcelona, Barcelona

This work is presented in a scroll-like (parchment-style) format, with the painting executed on a flexible support and suspended using metal rods at the top and bottom, allowing the ...

Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

Metal squares. 3D textured.
Metal squares. 3D textured.

Metal squares. 3D textured.

By Svetlana Saratova

Located in Zofingen, AG

The painting is made up of individual squares on canvas, creating a unique and intriguing geometric composition. Each square, crafted using clay, represents an individual element, im...

Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Clay, Canvas, Acrylic

1960's French Cubist Abstract Oil Painting - Monogrammed
1960's French Cubist Abstract Oil Painting - Monogrammed

1960's French Cubist Abstract Oil Painting - Monogrammed

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Artist/ School: French School, signed with initials, dated 1960's Title: Cubist abstract Medium: oil painting on board, unframed board: 13.75 x 10.5 inches Provenance: private co...

Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

Mid Century Abstract Geometric Painting, Signed 1963, Textured Layers
Mid Century Abstract Geometric Painting, Signed 1963, Textured Layers

Mid Century Abstract Geometric Painting, Signed 1963, Textured Layers

Located in Cotignac, FR

Mid Century Abstract in polymerised macro-molecular paint on canvas applied to a painted wooden board by Belgian artist Paul H Saffre. Signed and dated {1963) on the board below the ...

Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic, Board

Monet's Pond at Giverny, Oil Painting
Monet's Pond at Giverny, Oil Painting

Monet's Pond at Giverny, Oil Painting

By Onelio Marrero

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Reflections on the water in Monet's pond at Giverny. Onelio spent some time there taking in the splendor of the setting. "Each view of the place was a paintin...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

Abstract Action Painting in Vibrant Colors
Abstract Action Painting in Vibrant Colors

Abstract Action Painting in Vibrant Colors

Located in San Francisco, CA

This abstract painting is a work by Joan Miller Linsley (1922–2000), an American artist recognized for her contributions to the Washington, D.C. art scene and her powerful social com...

Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Wavelet" Fine Art Mirror
"Wavelet" Fine Art Mirror

"Wavelet" Fine Art Mirror

By Alina Bisikirskaite

Located in Westport, CT

This abstract fine art mirror by Alina B is made with dichroic film on mirror, and is framed in a champagne-toned frame. The film on the mirror allows for it, and the space it reflec...

Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Mirror, Film

"City Streets" Contemporary Outsider Urban Expressionism Painting Framed
"City Streets" Contemporary Outsider Urban Expressionism Painting Framed

"City Streets" Contemporary Outsider Urban Expressionism Painting Framed

By Purvis Young

Located in New York, NY

The painting is an expressive, abstract work by Purvis Young with a strong emphasis on dynamic brushwork and a limited color palette dominated by deep reds, off-whites, and subtle ac...

Category

20th Century Abstract Paintings

Materials

Found Objects, Mixed Media, Cardboard

Vintage American Modernist Abstract Expressionist Framed Large Oil Painting
Vintage American Modernist Abstract Expressionist Framed Large Oil Painting

Vintage American Modernist Abstract Expressionist Framed Large Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Vintage American modernist abstract oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Unsigned. Measuring: 46 by 58 inches overall, and 45 by 57 painting alone.. In excellent original condition...

Category

1950s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Time to Bloom
Time to Bloom

Time to Bloom

By Olena Kishkurno

Located in Zofingen, AG

Time to Bloom from the Inner Landscapes series Acrylic on canvas Contemporary Abstract Landscape Painting Time to Bloom is a contemporary abstract landscape acrylic painting from th...

Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic, Oil Pastel

Golden Hour (The Meeting)
Golden Hour (The Meeting)

Golden Hour (The Meeting)

By Olena Kishkurno

Located in Zofingen, AG

Golden Hour (The Meeting) is a luminous contemporary impressionist painting that explores the emotional power of human connection through expressive brushwork, radiant color, and atm...

Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Christina Gschwantner New Vivid Gestures Contemporary Abstract Painting Bright
Christina Gschwantner New Vivid Gestures Contemporary Abstract Painting Bright

Christina Gschwantner New Vivid Gestures Contemporary Abstract Painting Bright

By Christina Gschwantner

Located in Barcelona, Barcelona

The work reflects the artist’s mastery of gesture and emotion, where each mark becomes a visual language. A striking piece that brings movement, depth, and intensity to any collectio...

Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

Bistro du Midi, Oil Painting
Bistro du Midi, Oil Painting

Bistro du Midi, Oil Painting

By Onelio Marrero

Located in San Francisco, CA

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...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

Liberty
Liberty

Liberty

By Oksana Reva

Located in Zofingen, AG

Liberty is an oil abstract painting and minimalist abstract landscape shaped by the quiet meeting of a sky-blue horizon and warm ochre earth tones, creating a subtle dialogue between...

Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Vibrant Modernist Abstraction by Claire Burch
Vibrant Modernist Abstraction by Claire Burch

Vibrant Modernist Abstraction by Claire Burch

Located in New York, NY

Claire Burch (American, 1925-2009) Untitled, 20th century Oil on canvas 24 x 30 in. Framed: 31 2/3 x 37 3/4 x 1 1/2 in. Signed lower right: Claire Burch After attending grade school in Brooklyn, Burch completed a commercial art course at Washington Irving High School in Manhattan and received her B.A. in English from NYU. In the suburbs of Great Neck, New York, she first began writing poetry and articles which were published in Life magazine, The New Republic, Mademoiselle, McCall's, Saturday Review, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, and numerous literary quarterlies and anthologies.[1] Burch also developed a career as a psychiatric writer, publishing two books on the subject: Careers in Psychiatry and Stranger in the Family. In the early 1970s Burch became a playwright and painter. Her play Ten Cents a Dance was optioned to be directed by José Quintero, the famous O'Neill interpreter. Burch wrote a total of seven plays and several folk operas, but eventually moved on to filmmaking and video anthropology—she was an early adapter of video as a medium. In 1978, Burch moved to California with her longtime companion Mark Weiman, publisher and owner of Berkeley's Regent Press. She had endured a series of illnesses and wanted to escape the harsh climate of Manhattan. Burch gained insight and inspiration from insanity and the often unexpected behavior associated with it. She would often videotape homeless people in People's Park and Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, which were collected in her film People's Park in Berkeley: Then and Now. The film documented the dispute between homeless activists and the University of California from the riots of 1969 through 1996 by interviewing park "regulars," and profiling the events surrounding the deaths of park supporters James Rector and Rosebud Denovo.[2] She also produced documentaries on noted cultural figures such as James Baldwin (whom she knew as a teenager), Timothy Leary and Country Joe McDonald. Also of note was Oracle Rising, a film about the legendary psychedelic newspaper The SF Oracle published in the Haight-Ashbury district during the Summer of Love. Her last completed film was Elegy for the Naked Guy...

Category

20th Century Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Vintage American Abstract Expressionist Framed Modernist MCM Oil Painting
Vintage American Abstract Expressionist Framed Modernist MCM Oil Painting

Vintage American Abstract Expressionist Framed Modernist MCM Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Vintage American modernist abstract oil painting. Oil on board. Framed. Measuring: 24 by 31 inches overall, and 18 by 26 painting alone. In excellent original condition. Nicely fram...

Category

1950s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Rene Leroy Large French Abstract Cubist Mixed Media Painting Framed
Rene Leroy Large French Abstract Cubist Mixed Media Painting Framed

Rene Leroy Large French Abstract Cubist Mixed Media Painting Framed

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Key Details Artist: Rene Leroy, French, born 1932 Title: Abstract / Cubist Composition Medium: Mixed media, material and oil on canvas, framed Size: Painting: 21.25 x 28.75 inches; f...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

Abstract Geometric Composition with Paper, Fibers, and Acrylic on Canvas (Green)
Abstract Geometric Composition with Paper, Fibers, and Acrylic on Canvas (Green)

Abstract Geometric Composition with Paper, Fibers, and Acrylic on Canvas (Green)

Located in Soquel, CA

Abstract Geometric Composition with Handmade Paper, Fibers and Acrylic on Canvas Whimsical abstract composition by an unknown artist (20th Century). Lime green acrylic paint makes u...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings

Materials

Jute, Acrylic, Washi Paper

Echoes in Pink Geometric Abstract Painting: Paper and Spray Paint
Echoes in Pink Geometric Abstract Painting: Paper and Spray Paint

Echoes in Pink Geometric Abstract Painting: Paper and Spray Paint

Located in New York, NY

In her work, Noam explores the intersection of geometry, rhythm, and material through a refined visual language. Using repetition and variation, she constructs a structured grid that...

Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Paper, Spray Paint

Figure with Orange and Blue - Original Signed Abstract Expressionist Work
Figure with Orange and Blue - Original Signed Abstract Expressionist Work

Figure with Orange and Blue - Original Signed Abstract Expressionist Work

By Felix Ruvolo

Located in Soquel, CA

Figure with Orange and Blue - Original Signed Abstract Expressionist Work Dynamic figural abstract piece by Felix Ruvolo (American, 1912-1992). In the center of the composition is a...

Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Gouache, Ink

Large Impressive American Abstract Expressionist Modern Interior Oil Painting
Large Impressive American Abstract Expressionist Modern Interior Oil Painting

Large Impressive American Abstract Expressionist Modern Interior Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Vintage American modernist abstract interior scene oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed and titled verso, "Bertoia Chair". Handsomely framed in a period molding. Excellent ...

Category

1950s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Could become (Abstract Painting)
Could become (Abstract Painting)

Could become (Abstract Painting)

By Nikolaos Schizas

Located in London, GB

Size without the frame: 130 x 97 cm (51,2 x 38,2 in) Size including the frame: 132 x 99 cm (52 x 39 in) Barcelona based painter Nikolaos Schizas creates dynamic abstract paintings t...

Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Energized, Abstract Painting
Energized, Abstract Painting

Energized, Abstract Painting

By Dorothy Gaziano

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Artist Dorothy Gaziano presents an abstract painting in various shades of blue, ranging from light turquoise to deep navy. The composition features layered, tex...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Contemporary Minimal Abstract, Large-Scale Neutral Earth Tones Painting
Contemporary Minimal Abstract, Large-Scale Neutral Earth Tones Painting

Contemporary Minimal Abstract, Large-Scale Neutral Earth Tones Painting

By Viktor Kobylianski

Located in Barcelona, Barcelona

At Escat Gallery we are committed to maintaining the highest standards of trust and professionalism for our collectors. Every artwork in our collection comes with a Certificate of Au...

Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Pigment

Abstract paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Abstract paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add paintings created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, purple, orange, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Giorgio Lo Fermo, Sumit Mehndiratta, Nestor Toro, and Cindy Shaoul. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Synthetic Resin Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Abstract paintings, so small editions measuring 0.1 inches across are also available.