A resurgence of interest in Expressionism, Pop art, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism and other movements gained steam among artists of the 1970s and ’80s, in part as a reaction to the austerity of the prevailing minimalism and Conceptual art of the era. A decadent, bold and brash art style called Neo-Expressionism saw painters returning to figural representation, creating highly textured works that were imbued with intensely personal narratives.
Neo-Expressionist paintings are sensuous in nature and highly subjective in meaning. Expressive brushwork, highly pigmented colors and layered forms and materials lent sculptural attributes to the work and were used to depict symbolic narratives from history, mythology and the artist’s personal experience.
Prominent figures such as Jean-Michel Basquiat led the Neo-Expressionist movement in the United States with paintings and prints that were raw, emotional and often violent in nature. In Germany, Die Neuen Wilden (the “New Fauves”) was the name given to a group of postwar artists that included the likes of sculptor Georg Baselitz and Gerhard Richter, a painter and photographer who explored the possibilities of both abstraction and realism, sometimes in a single piece. The work of the New Fauves — labeled as such for its return to Fauvism’s textured brushwork and use of vibrant colors — shares commonalities with Neo-Expressionism, and Baselitz was a pioneer of the movement in Europe. In addition, Willem de Kooning’s pulsating action paintings and Julian Schnabel’s experimentation with the materiality of paintings also took shape during this period.
“I was trying to make paintings different from the paintings that I saw a lot of at the time, which were mostly minimal, and they were highbrow and alienating, and I wanted to make very direct paintings that most people would feel the emotion behind when they saw them,” said Basquiat.
Neo-Expressionism generated some polarizing opinions, with some celebrating the revival of personal subjectivity in art while others criticizing the movement for being too commercially driven and nostalgic. But most experts agree that Neo-Expressionism was a huge commercial success and culturally impactful, paving the way for the postmodern work of artists like Richter and Sigmar Polke.
Find original Neo-Expressionist paintings, prints, mixed-media works and other art on 1stDibs.
$1,592Sale Price|20% Off
ÌLÒRÍ (Put To Bed) Neo-Expressionist Acrylic Mixed Media Painting
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
The title itself, "ÌLÒRÍ," holds a special meaning, as the artist reveals it is a name given to a child who finds its way into their mother's belly while she is still breastfeeding a...
Canvas, Acrylic, Mixed Media, Oil
$3,600Sale Price|20% Off
Landscape 103 by Jean Krille - Oil on masonite 100x100cm
By Jean Krille
Located in Geneva, CH
Jean Krillé’s paintings are known for their expressive use of color and dynamic, abstract forms, blending realism with abstraction in his depictions of nature. His landscapes often f...
Oil
$3,500
"Dog with Pearls" by L. A. Spowart - Abstract Animal Painting on Wood Panel
Located in Carmel, CA
Lesley Anne Spowart (American, born 1957) "Dog with Pearls" 2021 Acrylic Paint, Mixed Media, Wood Panel The artist signed the bottom left and back of the painting. "Dog with Pearls"...
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Wood Panel
$20,493
Jay-Z Basquiat. Transformation. ( Force Ghost) Large Neo Expressionist Painting
By Sax Berlin
Located in Brecon, Powys
From his earliest days of artistic creativity polymath artist Sax Berlin has harnessed the spirituality of art and allowed it to guide his own unique hand. This piece is a product o...
Silver Leaf
"Janus". Contemporary Figurative Painting
By Sax Berlin
Located in Brecon, Powys
Janus presided over the beginning and ending of conflicts, hence war and peace. The gates of the Temple of Janus in Rome were opened in times of war and closed to mark the arrival of...
Oil, Acrylic
Monsoon Cockatoos
By Hunt Slonem
Located in Woodmere, OH
Hunt Slonem (b. 1951) is an internationally celebrated American artist whose vibrant and instantly recognizable works have made him one of the most collectible contemporary painters ...
Canvas, Oil
Caldentey Red Black original neo expressionist acrylic painting
Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
Otoño original neo expressionist acrylic painting. contemporary work by the mallorquin artist Toni CALDENTEY CALDENTEY, Toni - (Portocolom, Mallorca - Spain) The active notion of r...
Acrylic, Cardboard
"Cose Acerbe in Tasca" by Enzio Wenk, 2022 - Acrylic on Cardboard, Figurative
By Enzio Wenk
Located in Bresso, IT
Translated title: "Unripe things in a pocket". Acrylic paint on cardboard. The blue frame is included.
Acrylic, Cardboard
"Pesci" by Enzio Wenk, 2019 - Acrylic on Canvas, Neo-Expressionism
By Enzio Wenk
Located in Bresso, IT
Translated title: "Fishes" Acrylic paint and collage on canvas.
Canvas, Acrylic
"Uomo con Fiori" by E. Wenk, 2020-21 - Watercolor and Acrylic Paint, Figurative
By Enzio Wenk
Located in Bresso, IT
Translated title: "Man with flowers". Watercolor on high-quality cotton paper, which is handmade in Italy. This is part of an album. The price refers to the single drawing.
Paper, Watercolor, Acrylic
$8,000
Landon
By Hunt Slonem
Located in Woodmere, OH
Hunt Slonem (b. 1951) is an internationally celebrated American artist whose vibrant and instantly recognizable works have made him one of the most collectible contemporary painters ...
Wood, Oil
$1,540Sale Price|30% Off
"Pourquoi partir puisque je t'aime" by Angelo - Oil on canvas 83x96cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Acrylic painting with frame. Total size with the c-us wooden frame is 88x102 cm Work signed " Angelo" artist unknown from the gallery. Dated 2001
Acrylic
Acrylic painting by established Lithuanian painter - cultural commentary - music
Located in Vilnius, Vilniaus apskr.
Title of the work is "David and the headless Galliot" Raimondas Gailiūnas (b. 1956) lives and works in Rokiškis. A painter whose career spans more than four decades is known for his ...
Canvas, Acrylic
"Cecità" by Enzio Wenk, 2020-2022 - Watercolor on Paper, Abstract
By Enzio Wenk
Located in Bresso, IT
Translated title: "Blindness" Watercolor on high-quality cotton paper, which is handmade in Italy. This is part of an album. It's been drawn in one go, with no erasure and with a c...
Paper, Watercolor
$527
"Cuore Amore" by Enzio Wenk, 2020-2022 - Acrylic Paint and Pencil, Abstract
By Enzio Wenk
Located in Bresso, IT
Translated title: "Heart Love" Acrylic paint and pencil on high-quality cotton paper, which is handmade in Italy. This is part of an album. It's been drawn in one go, with no eras...
Paper, Acrylic, Pencil
Big Little Angel Of SoHo. Contemporary Figurative Painting
By Sax Berlin
Located in Brecon, Powys
Berlin has loved Manhattan & New York City for decades. This love is passionately brought to life in the dynamic & vibrant series of Guradian Angels that he's created to protect the ...
Acrylic
"Blue Licorice" Neo-Expressionist Urban Landscape Oil Painting
By Linda Dumont
Located in Austin, TX
This vibrant neo-expressionist piece by Linda Dumont depicts a set table on an outdoor patio on a clear sunny day. This 16 x 12 inch piece is executed on oil on panel and framed in a...
Oil, Archival Paper
$1,750
"Toda Raba #1, " Abstract Black Acrylic on Canvas signed by Reginald K Gee
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Toda Raba #1" is an original acrylic painting by Reginald K. Gee signed in the lower right hand corner. 18" x 24" Contemporary African American and Native American Hertiage Artist...
Canvas, Acrylic
The Towers (Berlin 1992)
Located in Summit, NJ
Peter Robert Keil painted "Tge Towers" in Berlin in 1992. The piece is from The Keil Famiky's private collection and was included in Peter's first ever exhibit in the United States at the Peanut...
Canvas, Oil
Caldentey serie Mallorca original neo figurative acrylic paper painting
Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
original neo-expressionist acrylic painting contemporary work by the mallorquin artist Toni CALDENTEY Painting on paper Perfect state CALDENTEY, Toni - (Portocolom, Mallorca - Spain...
Acrylic, Cardboard
$10,950
Tom & Jane
By Hunt Slonem
Located in Woodmere, OH
Hunt Slonem (b. 1951) is an internationally celebrated American artist whose vibrant and instantly recognizable works have made him one of the most collectible contemporary painters ...
Wood, Oil
$21,250
White Hutch
By Hunt Slonem
Located in Woodmere, OH
Hunt Slonem (b. 1951) is an internationally celebrated American artist whose vibrant and instantly recognizable works have made him one of the most collectible contemporary painters ...
Wood, Oil
Pink Diamond Dust (Lupin Field)
By Hunt Slonem
Located in Woodmere, OH
Hunt Slonem (b. 1951) is an internationally celebrated American artist whose vibrant and instantly recognizable works have made him one of the most collectible contemporary painters ...
Wood, Oil, Acrylic
$527
"Il mare ti guarda" by E. Wenk, 2020-2022 - Acrylic Paint on Paper, Figurative
By Enzio Wenk
Located in Bresso, IT
Translated title: "The sea looks at you". Acrylic paint on high-quality cotton paper, which is handmade in Italy. This is part of an album. It's been drawn in one go, with no erasu...
Paper, Acrylic
"Composizione" by Enzio Wenk, 2020-2022 - Acrylic Paint on Paper, Abstract
By Enzio Wenk
Located in Bresso, IT
Translated title: "Composition" Acrylic paint on high-quality cotton paper, which is handmade in Italy. This is part of an album. It's been drawn in one go, with no erasure. The p...
Paper, Acrylic
$2,512Sale Price|88% Off
Winter landscape n°15 by Jean Krillé - Oil on wood 80x100 cm
By Jean Krille
Located in Geneva, CH
Of Germanic descent, the painter Jean Krillé was born in 1923 in Switzerland. His father, writer and poet, oriented him towards art and culture. From the age of 16, he enrolled at th...
Oil
$2,512Sale Price|44% Off
Tableau n°73 by Jean Krillé - Oil on wood 80x100 cm
By Jean Krille
Located in Geneva, CH
Of Germanic descent, the painter Jean Krillé was born in 1923 in Switzerland. His father, writer and poet, oriented him towards art and culture. From the age of 16, he enrolled at th...
Oil
$1,520Sale Price|56% Off
Tableau n°65 by Jean Krillé - Oil on wood 60x80 cm
By Jean Krille
Located in Geneva, CH
Of Germanic descent, the painter Jean Krillé was born in 1923 in Switzerland. His father, writer and poet, oriented him towards art and culture. From the age of 16, he enrolled at th...
Oil
"Arrivano le bombe" by E. Wenk, 2020-22- Acrylic Paint and Pencil, Abstract
By Enzio Wenk
Located in Bresso, IT
Translated title: "Bombs are coming" Acrylic paint and pencil paint on high-quality cotton paper, which is handmade in Italy. This is part of an album. It's been drawn in one go, w...
Paper, Pencil, Acrylic
$410
"Casa" by Enzio Wenk, 2020-2021 - Marker on Paper, Landscape, NeoExpressionism
By Enzio Wenk
Located in Bresso, IT
Translated title: "Home". Marker on paper. This is part of an album. The price refers to the single drawing.
Paper, Permanent Marker
$410
Untitled by Enzio Wenk, 2020-2021 -Acrylic on Paper, Abstract, NeoExpressionism
By Enzio Wenk
Located in Bresso, IT
Acrylic paint on paper. This is part of an album. The price refers to the single drawing.
Acrylic, Paper
"The Goodwill Ambassador Cannot Look Away." Contemporary Neo Expressionism
By Sax Berlin
Located in Brecon, Powys
A stunning almost minimalist Neo-Expressionist piece from the Atlantic studio of Sax Berlin. Throughout the Summer of 2024 in increasingly unpredictable times Berlin has been creatin...
Oil, Acrylic
R. Poch 99 Las 10 y 10 Two Characters Big Square. original acrylic painting
By Ramon Poch
Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
99 las diez y diez 150x150 cm. original acrylic painting Born in Badalona (Barcelona). Photographer and advertising film director. Founding partner of the advertising production co...
Acrylic
114 Million Refugees: Neo-Expressionist Oil and Acrylic Painting
By Sax Berlin
Located in Brecon, Powys
114,000,000 Refugees. Cate Blanchett Goodwill Ambassador to UNHCR Addressing European Parliament Cate Blanchett, Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR addressed the European Parliament on ...
Oil, Acrylic
$3,163
"In un mare di pittura" by Enzio Wenk, 2019 -Acrylic on Canvas, NeoExpressionism
By Enzio Wenk
Located in Bresso, IT
Translated title: "In a sea of painting". Acrylic paint on canvas.
Canvas, Acrylic
Hunt Slonem Oil Painting "Rosie" White and Pink Ombre Bunny
By Hunt Slonem
Located in Houston, TX
Hunt Slonem Oil Painting "Rosie" White and Pink Ombre Bunny A single rabbit gestured in white on a pink ombre background in a vintage frame Unframed: 10 x 8 inches Framed: 14 x 12 i...
Oil, Panel
Hunt Slonem Oil Painting "Wave" Black and Blue Bunny
By Hunt Slonem
Located in Houston, TX
Hunt Slonem Oil Painting "Wave" Black and Blue Bunny A single rabbit gestured in black on a blue background in a vintage frame Unframed: 10 x 8 inches Framed: 19.5 x 17.5 inches *Pa...
Oil, Panel
"Vanità necessità" by Enzio Wenk, 2010 - Acrylic on Canvas, Colorful Words
By Enzio Wenk
Located in Bresso, IT
Translated title: "Vanity necessity" Acrylic on canvas.
Canvas, Acrylic
Skull. Contemporary Neo Expressionist Oil Painting
By Sax Berlin
Located in Brecon, Powys
What better time than now to introduce Sax Berlin's Mortality series. Since people started creating art works there have been representations of human (and animal) bones; skeletons a...
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
"Stop The Hatred". Contemporary Neo Expressionist Oil Painting
By Sax Berlin
Located in Brecon, Powys
This is such a pertinent piece from Sax Berlin. Nobody else painting today melds generations and genres in this way; 60's colours, 70's glam, 80's street, 90's hip- hop and 21st cen...
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
$2,578
"Tracciato Polivalente" by Enzio Wenk, 2020 -Acrylic on Canvas, NeoExpressionism
By Enzio Wenk
Located in Bresso, IT
Translated title: "Multi-purpose trace". Acrylic on canvas.
Canvas, Acrylic
Surrealist Evolution. Contemporary Surrealist Oil Painting
By Sax Berlin
Located in Brecon, Powys
Acrylic On Canvas
Canvas, Acrylic
"Homeless" Contemporary Figurative Neo Expressionist Oil Painting
By Sax Berlin
Located in Brecon, Powys
Sociological Expressionism. From Grosz and Dix to Berlin, this movement gives voices and images to the conscience of the people trying to process the contemporary trauma of the hopel...
Oil, Acrylic
Wise Up We All From Africa. Large Neo Expressionist Painting
By Sax Berlin
Located in Brecon, Powys
Painted in Sax Berlin's iconic Sharp Edge style, Wise Up displays motif's from Africa, see the display of flags at the bottom of the canvas for example, and instantly recognisable sy...
Canvas, Acrylic
Untitled by Enzio Wenk, 2022- Acrylic on Canvas, NeoExpressionism
By Enzio Wenk
Located in Bresso, IT
Acrylic on canvas. The black frame is included.
Canvas, Acrylic
Faces which Ring with Refuge 8
Located in Dallas, TX
“Everybody has that feeling when they look at a work of art and it’s right, that sudden familiarity, a sort of...recognition, as though they were creating it themselves, as though it...
Acrylic, Panel
"Liberty Now! " Large Contemporary Neo Expressionist Painting
By Sax Berlin
Located in Brecon, Powys
This piece is stoked with imagery and icons. Immediately recognisable in this painting are the Statue of Liberty, and the Guardian Angels, but there are other, more subtle images thr...
Gold Leaf
$30,000
Siddahs
By Hunt Slonem
Located in Fairfield, CT
Hunt Slonem is an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker. He is best known for his Neo-Expressionist paintings of butterflies, bunnies, and his tropical birds, often based on a p...
Canvas, Oil
Guardians and Butterflies Mardi Gras
By Hunt Slonem
Located in Woodmere, OH
Hunt Slonem (b. 1951) is an internationally celebrated American artist whose vibrant and instantly recognizable works have made him one of the most collectible contemporary painters ...
Canvas, Oil
$10,546
"Periferia" by Enzio Wenk, 2019 -Acrylic on Canvas, Neo-Expressionism, Landscape
By Enzio Wenk
Located in Bresso, IT
Translated title: "Outskirts" Acrylic paint on canvas.
Canvas, Acrylic
"Bosco" by Enzio Wenk, 2017 - Diptych, Acrylic on Canvas, Neo-Expressionism
By Enzio Wenk
Located in Bresso, IT
Translated title: "Forest" Acrylic on double canvas. This is a diptych.
Canvas, Acrylic
Ecstasy: Contemporary Neo Expressionist Oil Painting
By Sax Berlin
Located in Brecon, Powys
This painting from Sax Berlin's studio overlooking the wild Atlantic Ocean captures the essence of ecstasy. It's imbued with the hot sense of the urgency and frenetic energy of New Y...
Oil, Acrylic
"White Gold Mortality". Contemporary Mixed Media Figurative Painting
By Sax Berlin
Located in Brecon, Powys
A stark and powerful painting, it immediately attracts attention. Berlin has revisited the skull motif in this piece of Neo-Expressionist art to sublime effect. The painting is a mas...
Gold Leaf
Untitled by Enzio Wenk, 2019 - Acrylic on Canvas, Diptych, Neo-Expressionism
By Enzio Wenk
Located in Bresso, IT
Diptych. Acrylic paint on emulsified canvas.
Canvas, Acrylic
Untitled by Enzio Wenk, 2017 - Acrylic Paint on Masonite, Neo-Expressionism
By Enzio Wenk
Located in Bresso, IT
Acrylic paint on masonite.
Masonite, Acrylic
Untitled by Enzio Wenk, 2017 - Acrylic Paint on Masonite, Neo-Expressionism
By Enzio Wenk
Located in Bresso, IT
Acrylic paint on masonite.
Masonite, Acrylic
Most Young Kings Get Their Head Cut Off
By Sax Berlin
Located in Brecon, Powys
This is a stunning, subtle painting from Sax Berlin that evokes the phrase used by Jean-Michel Basquiat. Berlin's interpretation of the quotation draws on his own personal knowledge ...
Oil, Acrylic
Mark Jenkin in La La Land : Contemporary Oil Painting
By Sax Berlin
Located in Brecon, Powys
A term familiar to most of us as a state of mind, Berlin has crafted his own idiosyncratic, ultra contemporary piece of Neo-Expresionism to reflect on this delusional condition. He h...
Oil, Acrylic
"Uccelli tropicali sotto la pioggia" by Enzio Wenk, 2018 -Acrylic on Canvas
By Enzio Wenk
Located in Bresso, IT
Translated title: "Tropical bird under the rain". Acrylic on a wooden panel. The frame is included. Painting: 44 x 58 cm With frame: 57x71 cm
Acrylic, Wood Panel
Pretending to Be Awake
By Taher Jaoui
Located in Boca Raton, FL
Neo Expressionist Abstracted Figurative painting
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic