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Abstract Photography

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
ID No. 17 The Refined. Limited edition photograph
ID No. 17 The Refined. Limited edition photograph

Dubravka LazicID No. 17 The Refined. Limited edition photograph, 2005

$2,100

ID No. 17 The Refined. Limited edition photograph

By Dubravka Lazic

Located in Miami Beach, FL

In this early photographic series, Dubravka Lazić turns her lens toward a subject rarely treated with such a quiet dignity: domestic cats. Shot in 2005, these portraits mimic the fo...

Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

Fish (Stay) - Contemporary, Expired, Polaroid, Photograph

Stefanie SchneiderFish (Stay) - Contemporary, Expired, Polaroid, Photograph, 2006

$350

Fish (Stay) - Contemporary, Expired, Polaroid, Photograph

By Stefanie Schneider

Located in Morongo Valley, CA

Fish (Stay) - 2006, 20x24cm, Edition 4/5. Archival C-Print, hand-printed by the artist on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper, matte surface, based on the Polaroid. Signature label and cer...

Category

Early 2000s Abstract Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid

Set of 2 Photographs. Cyanotype photograph of the ocean waves
Set of 2 Photographs. Cyanotype photograph of the ocean waves

Paola DavilaSet of 2 Photographs. Cyanotype photograph of the ocean waves, 2022

$4,400

Set of 2 Photographs. Cyanotype photograph of the ocean waves

By Paola Davila

Located in Miami Beach, FL

Water is constant in the artist's visual investigation, for her water is no longer the stage in which the body's memory bursts, but rather the environment and protagonist, constant o...

Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Cotton, Archival Pigment

Fairy, 2025. Cyanotype photograph
Fairy, 2025. Cyanotype photograph

Dubravka LazicFairy, 2025. Cyanotype photograph, 2025

$2,000

Fairy, 2025. Cyanotype photograph

By Dubravka Lazic

Located in Miami Beach, FL

The photos from the series Let Me Tell You a Story show, each one individually, certain themes through strongly narrative visual units. Each photograph is dedicated to a specific rep...

Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Archival Paper

Seascape XIII - large scale abstract photograph of monochrome seascape
Seascape XIII - large scale abstract photograph of monochrome seascape

Frank SchottSeascape XIII - large scale abstract photograph of monochrome seascape, 2021

$5,800

Seascape XIII - large scale abstract photograph of monochrome seascape

By Frank Schott

Located in San Francisco, CA

Mesmerizing large scale photograph from the artist's Seascape series, a body of works capturing the tactile surfaces and monochromatic nature of oceanic water and cloudscapes Seasca...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Black and White, Giclée, Archival Pi...

Visible, Disappearance and Destiny, Triptych
Visible, Disappearance and Destiny, Triptych

Arslan SükanVisible, Disappearance and Destiny, Triptych, 2009

$22,000

Visible, Disappearance and Destiny, Triptych

By Arslan Sükan

Located in Miami Beach, FL

‘While you are sleeping’ (Seascape Series) In his seascape works, Sukan manipulates his imagery connected to the constant tensions between the mental grasp of the specificity and rep...

Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Black and White, Archival Pigment

Untitled (W.O.F 09-07-13)

Christopher ColvilleUntitled (W.O.F 09-07-13), 2013

$1,250

Untitled (W.O.F 09-07-13)

By Christopher Colville

Located in Sante Fe, NM

Works of Fire When I look into the night sky I am awestruck by the darkness that is the universe. As the sparse light of the stars descends, I am entangled in a state of wonder, sea...

Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Manhattan Panorama, Skyline, New York City, black white landscape photography
Manhattan Panorama, Skyline, New York City, black white landscape photography

Gerald BerghammerManhattan Panorama, Skyline, New York City, black white landscape photography, 2016

$2,087Sale Price|25% Off

Manhattan Panorama, Skyline, New York City, black white landscape photography

By Gerald Berghammer

Located in Vienna, Vienna

Black and white fine art long exposure waterscape - landscape photography. Manhattan skyline with breakwater in foreground, New York city, USA. Archival pigment ink print as part of ...

Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Pigment, Digital Pigment

Multilayer 285 - unique abstract collage of layered torn sculpture photographs
Multilayer 285 - unique abstract collage of layered torn sculpture photographs

Felix SchrammMultilayer 285 - unique abstract collage of layered torn sculpture photographs, 2020

$14,000

Multilayer 285 - unique abstract collage of layered torn sculpture photographs

By Felix Schramm

Located in San Francisco, CA

Multilayer 285 unique abstract photo paper collage (1 of 1) signed 39" x 31.5" / 100cm x 80cm About the artist Felix Schramm was born in Hamburg, German...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Photography

Materials

Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Giclée, Silver Gelatin, Archival ...

Blue Horizons
Blue Horizons

Gary MankusBlue Horizons, 2013

$1,000

Blue Horizons

By Gary Mankus

Located in Los Angeles, CA

This unframed, signed, limited edition pigment print by artist Gary Mankus exists in an edition of 40. Paper size is 24"h x 48"w with an image size of 18.5"h x 41"w. Gary Mankus was...

Category

2010s Abstract Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper, Digital, Pigment, Archival Pigment, Digital Pigment

Gaia 1 - Black and White Diptych of Waves on Shoreline with Sand and Flowers

Jaume LlorensGaia 1 - Black and White Diptych of Waves on Shoreline with Sand and Flowers

$558

Gaia 1 - Black and White Diptych of Waves on Shoreline with Sand and Flowers

By Jaume Llorens

Located in Brighton, GB

Gaia 1 - Black and White Diptych of Waves on Shoreline with Sand and Flowers by Jaume Llorens Bach Gaia 1 is a 18cm x 24cm Black-and-White print on Premio Kozo 180gsm White Paper by...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Photography

Materials

Black and White, Digital, Photographic Paper

Abstract photography for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Abstract photography 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 photography 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, red, orange and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Mitchell Funk, Paul Snell, Michael Banks, and Seb Janiak. Frequently made by artists working with Paper, and Pigment Print 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 photography, so small editions measuring 0.5 inches across are also available. Prices for photography made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $50 and tops out at $36,000, while the average work sells for $3,359.

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