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.
$278Sale Price|48% Off
STAIN Photography Abstract, Limited Edition of 5, Signed, 45x58 cm
Located in Slovak Republic, SK
This is a photography / limited to 5 from an oil on canvas painting, which I paint over. It's look strange but interesting.
Photographic Paper
EM-3 Vajrayogini
By Bill Kane
Located in London, GB
Pigment on canvas - Unframed. Edition of 3. The Emanations series is an attempt to express the spiritual potential of the most essential aspect of photography: light. Each work in ...
Canvas, Pigment
Bleed # 202124 (Abstract photography)
By Paul Snell
Located in London, GB
Bleed # 202124 (Abstract Photography) Chromogenic Print Face-mounted 3mm Matte Plexiglas - Unframed. Edition: 3/3. Paul Snell combines traditional and digital techniques to explor...
Plexiglass, C Print
Gravity - Liquid 21 (Abstract Photography)
By Seb Janiak
Located in London, GB
Gravity - Liquid 21 (Abstract Photography) Chromogenic print. Edition 1/5. In his Gravity Liquid series, Janiak creates visual representations of the idea that form cannot exist wi...
C Print
Gravity - Liquid 58 (Abstract Photography)
By Seb Janiak
Located in London, GB
Gravity - Liquid 58 (Abstract Photography) Chromogenic print. Edition 1/5. In his Gravity Liquid series, Janiak creates visual representations of the idea that form cannot exist wi...
C Print
Unlock (Abstract photography)
Located in London, GB
Unlock (Abstract photography) Silver Gelatin Print - Unframed. Tenesh Webber is a Canadian artist who works in abstract black and white photography. She lives and works in the New ...
Silver Gelatin
Magnetic radiation 99 (Large) (Abstract photography)
By Seb Janiak
Located in London, GB
Magnetic radiation 99 (Large) (Abstract photography) Chromogenic print. Edition 1/5. In his Magnetic Radiation series, Janiak reveals the hidden world of magnetism by photographing ferrofluids. A ferrofluid is a liquid substance magnetized through the introduction of iron particles. Janiak introduced magnetic forces to the ferrofluid, moving the magnets into different configurations to cause the colloidal mixture to assume various forms that reveal the otherwise invisible nature of magnetic activity. The forms reveal ancient forces, those that shaped the universe at its beginning. Seb Janiak is a photographic artist whose work explores conditions in which opposites can co-exist, revealing the visual characteristics of the hidden forces...
C Print
Untitled 215 (Abstract photography)
Located in London, GB
Untitled 215 (Abstract photography) C print - Unframed. Richard Caldicott is most well known for this earlier work series which used Tupperware containers as the subject for his ph...
C Print
Place (Series) #665
Located in Houston, TX
Bill Jacobson Place (Series) #665, 2012 Pigment print mounted to museum board 37 3/4 x 31 3/4 inches, framed Ed. 7
Pigment
Morphogenetic field - AB negative blood (Abstract Photography)
By Seb Janiak
Located in London, GB
Morphogenetic field - AB negative blood (Abstract Photography) Chromogenic print. Edition 1/5. In his Morphogenetic fields series, Janiak examines the visible manifestation of the ...
C Print
BLEED # 202042 (Abstract Photography)
By Paul Snell
Located in London, GB
BLEED # 202042 (Abstract Photography) Chromogenic Print Face-mounted 3mm Matte Plexiglas - Unframed. Available on request - 4 week turnaround. Backed with extruded polystyrene, co...
Plexiglass, C Print
EM2020-12 (Abstract Photography)
By Bill Kane
Located in London, GB
EM2020-12 (Abstract Photography) Pigment on watercolor paper - Unframed. Edition of 10. The Emanations series is an attempt to express the spiritual potential of the most essentia...
Paper, Pigment
EMDL-9 (Abstract Photography)
By Bill Kane
Located in London, GB
EMDL-9 (Abstract Photography) Pigment on canvas - Unframed. Edition of 3. The Emanations series is an attempt to express the spiritual potential of the most essential aspect of ph...
Canvas, Pigment
Fall (Abstract photography)
Located in London, GB
Fall (Abstract photography) Black and white photogram - Unframed Tenesh Webber is a Canadian artist who works in abstract black and white photography. She lives and works in the N...
Paper, Photogram
Gravity - Liquid 83 (Abstract Photography)
By Seb Janiak
Located in London, GB
Gravity - Liquid 83 (Abstract Photography) Chromogenic print. Edition 1/5. In his Gravity Liquid series, Janiak creates visual representations of the idea that form cannot exist wi...
C Print
Gravity Bulle d'air 05 (Abstract Photography)
By Seb Janiak
Located in London, GB
Gravity Bulle d'air 05 (Abstract Photography) Chromogenic print. Edition 1/5. In his Gravity Bulles d'air series, Janiak creates visual representations of the idea that form canno...
C Print
Magnetic radiation 01 (Abstract photography)
By Seb Janiak
Located in London, GB
Magnetic radiation 01 (Abstract photography) Chromogenic print. Edition 1/5. In his Magnetic Radiation series, Janiak reveals the hidden world of magnetism by photographing ferrofl...
C Print
Untitled 176
Located in London, GB
C print - Unframed. Richard Caldicott is most well known for this earlier work series which used Tupperware containers as the subject for his photographs. As he describes : "Tupper...
C Print
To and Fro 3 (Abstract photography)
Located in London, GB
To and Fro 3 (Abstract photography) Silver Gelatin Print - Unframed. Tenesh Webber is a Canadian artist who works in abstract black and white photography. She lives and works in th...
Silver Gelatin
$324Sale Price|30% Off
Purple Circles Abstract Photography, Limited Edition, Signed, 58x45 cm
Located in Slovak Republic, SK
Abstract photography, very vivid colors, limited to 10, signed by the author. Evoking happiness and good mood.
Photographic Paper
EM-104 Geshe (Abstract Photography)
By Bill Kane
Located in London, GB
EM-104 Geshe (Abstract Photography) Pigment on canvas - Unframed. Edition of 3. The Emanations series is an attempt to express the spiritual potential of the most essential aspect...
Canvas, Pigment
EM-78 Vajra 3 (Abstract new media)
By Bill Kane
Located in London, GB
Pigment on canvas - Unframed. Edition of 3. The Emanations series is an attempt to express the spiritual potential of the most essential aspect of photography: light. Each work in ...
Canvas, Pigment
$2,964Sale Price|20% Off
Impact #3 Archival Pigment Print, Limited Edition Abstract Photography
Located in London, GB
Floating shapes and ethereal light evoke a sense of serenity and infinite exploration... This is "Impact" #3 by Michael G Jackson Archival Pigment Print (from the original hand mad...
Glass, Wood, Photographic Paper, Color, Photogram, Archival Pigment
Trace # 201902 (Abstract photography)
By Paul Snell
Located in London, GB
Chromogenic Print face-mounted 3mm matt plexiglas - Unframed. Backed with Dibond and C-channel hanging system + keyhole option. Available on request - 4 week turnaround Edition o...
Plexiglass, C Print
Spring Blooming In Central Park, Fine Art Print Hahnemuhle Paper Baryta
Located in Miami, FL
The work is signed, dated, and numbered 4/15 in the lower right recto corner, with other sizes available. It is unframed and printed later. Printed on Hahnemühle Fine Art paper. Mi...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
Abstract archival pigment print (photograph) of figures swimming in the bay, sea
By Ava Blitz
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
"Watermelon Bay" is an original abstract archival pigment print made with digital and alternative photographic processes. Image measures 6.5" x 6.5" on 12.5" x 11.5" 100% rag paper. ...
Archival Pigment, Rag Paper
Abstract archival pigment print (photograph) of coleus flowering plant, flora
By Ava Blitz
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
"Ensemble" is an original abstract archival pigment print made with digital and alternative photographic processes. Image measures 20" x 30", plus there is an approx 2" white border ...
Archival Pigment
Eva Mueller, Tarmac IBZ 11:47:51, 2009, Digital Print
By Eva Mueller
Located in Darien, CT
Bavarian-born and raised Eva Mueller, made New York her home in 1990. Her previous studies and experience in graphic design and visual fine art, evolved into her career in photogr...
Archival Pigment
Eva Mueller, Tarmac FRA 17:30:40, 2009, Digital Print
By Eva Mueller
Located in Darien, CT
Bavarian-born and raised Eva Mueller, made New York her home in 1990. Her previous studies and experience in graphic design and visual fine art, evolved into her career in photogr...
Archival Pigment
Eva Mueller, Tarmac LAS 06:19:21, 2008, Digital Print
By Eva Mueller
Located in Darien, CT
Bavarian-born and raised Eva Mueller, made New York her home in 1990.Her previous studies and experience in graphic design and visual fine art, evolved into her career in photography...
Archival Pigment
Eva Mueller, Tarmac IBZ 11:48:10, 2009, Digital Print
By Eva Mueller
Located in Darien, CT
Bavarian-born and raised Eva Mueller, made New York her home in 1990.Her previous studies and experience in graphic design and visual fine art, evolved into her career in photography...
Archival Pigment
Eva Mueller, Tarmac MXP 11:09:45, 2009, Digital Print
By Eva Mueller
Located in Darien, CT
Bavarian-born and raised Eva Mueller, made New York her home in 1990.Her previous studies and experience in graphic design and visual fine art, evolved into her career in photography...
Archival Pigment
$8,489
EMDL-1
By Bill Kane
Located in London, GB
Pigment on canvas - Unframed. Edition of 3. The Emanations series is an attempt to express the spiritual potential of the most essential aspect of photography: light. Each work in the series began its evolution as a scanned image of a Buddhist thangka—a spiritual painting of a Buddhist deity—which was then blurred and stretched until all that remained was a distilled image of color and form. These reduced images were then printed onto canvases, resulting in what Kane refers to as elemental “representations of the light bodies of the Buddhas.” Bill Kane...
Canvas, Pigment
$491Sale Price|47% Off
Long Moon Photography, Limited Edition Signed, 21st Century, 30x40 cm
Located in Slovak Republic, SK
Bratislava, night image, limited to 5, signed by the author.
Photographic Paper
Concorde Hangar, Aerospatiale Concorde
Located in New York City, NY
27 x 44 in Edition of 9 EUR 3.500 35 x 57 in Edition of 9 EUR 5.500 48 x 71 in Edition of 9 EUR 7.100 Dye Sublimation on Aluminum 48 x 77 in Edition of 9 EUR 9.100 Dye Sublimation...
Dye Transfer
Downtown Las Vegas Vintage Neon Sign At Dusk, Signed Print 3/15
Located in Miami, FL
Chief Hotel Court classic Las Vegas vintage neon sign. The work is signed, dated, and numbered 3/15 in the lower right recto corner, with other sizes available. It is unframed and ...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
$278Sale Price|86% Off
Hole 1 - Abstract, limited, signed, print/photography
Located in Slovak Republic, SK
Print/Photography, abstract, limited 1/5, signed by the author.
Photographic Paper, Color
Intersect # 201605
By Paul Snell
Located in London, GB
Chromogenic Print Face-mounted 4.5mm Plexiglas - Unframed. Available on request 5-6 week turnaround. Backed with Dibond and C-channel hanging system + keyhole option. Edition: 1/3. ...
Plexiglass, C Print
$3,988Sale Price|20% Off
Fire Study: Flame & Smoke, Framed Fine Art Photographic Print, Signed, 80x60 cm
Located in London, GB
An elegant depiction of smokey tendril... Abstract forms capture the essence of smoke's transient dance, evoking ethereal beauty... Inspired by East Asian Sumi ink drawings, George M...
Wood, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Cotton, Archival Ink, Archiv...
Intersect # 201600
By Paul Snell
Located in London, GB
Chromogenic Print Face-mounted 4.5mm Plexiglas - Unframed. Backed with Dibond and C-channel hanging system + keyhole option. Available on request 5-6 week turnaround. Edition: 1/3. ...
Plexiglass, C Print
$278Sale Price|70% Off
YELLOW and YELLOW / Photography / Print/ Signed / Limited
Located in Slovak Republic, SK
Abstract photography, limited 5, signed by the author.
Photographic Paper, Color, Digital
$5,174Sale Price|20% Off
NY # 201801
By Paul Snell
Located in London, GB
Chromogenic Print Face-mounted 4.5mm Plexiglas - Unframed. Backed with Dibond and C-channel hanging system + keyhole option. Available on request 4-6 week turnaround. Edition: 3/3...
Plexiglass, C Print
$389Sale Price|59% Off
Limited Signed Color Photography Print: Abstract 21st Century Art
Located in Slovak Republic, SK
Photography - print, limited of 15, signed by the author. The item is a lamp, which evoked to me a button (which I hate in principle).
Color
Beach Day, Maui, Hawaii
Located in New York City, NY
David Burdeny Beach Day, Maui, Hawaii, 2011 Archival Pigment Print Signature Label Print only. Ask us for framing options. Also available in 50 x 50 inches Edition of 3
Archival Pigment
$250Sale Price|88% Off
Shadow, Abstract Color Print Photography, Signed, Limited Edition 3
Located in Slovak Republic, SK
abstract photography, signed by the author, limited 3.
Color
$510Sale Price|86% Off
Abstract V. Color Print Photography, Limited Edition of 15
Located in Slovak Republic, SK
Photography, limited edition of 15, signed by the author.
Color
Watch Your Step, Abstract Expressionist Color Photography, 2010-
Located in Chesterfield, MI
Detroit, Michigan has many photogenic spots in its urban area. This photo was taken in an old Corktown neighborhood that is currently becoming quite chic. Framing options are availa...
Photographic Paper
Brassaï Framed Black and White Heliogravure from Anthologie de La Poésie Naturel
By Brassaï
Located in Barcelona, ES
A distinctive framed black and white heliogravure by Brassaï, originally published in 1949 in Anthologie de La Poésie Naturelle, edited by K éditeur. This evocative image reflects th...
Paper
Photon 06 (Abstract Photography)
By Seb Janiak
Located in London, GB
Photon 06 (Abstract Photography) Chromogenic print. Edition 1/5. In his Photon series, Janiak explores the intrinsic duality of light. The photons we interpret as light exist in a ...
C Print
Morphogenetic field - Beluga Caviar (Abstract Photography)
By Seb Janiak
Located in London, GB
Morphogenetic field - Beluga Caviar (Abstract Photography) Chromogenic print. Edition 1/5. In his Morphogenetic fields series, Janiak examines the visi...
C Print
Magnetic radiation 11 (Abstract Photography)
By Seb Janiak
Located in London, GB
Magnetic radiation 11 (Abstract Photography) Chromogenic print. Edition 1/5. In his Magnetic radiation series, Janiak reveals the hidden world of magnetism by photographing ferrofl...
C Print
Flux # 202601 (Abstract Photography)
By Paul Snell
Located in London, GB
Edition: 1/3 Paul Snell is an Australian artist who blurs the boundaries between photography and painting, creating contemplative works that replace constant image saturation with m...
Concrete, Enamel
Central Park, Tables And Umbrellas On Snowy Day, Sign Color Fine Art Print
Located in Miami, FL
Central Park Cafe In winter snow blizzard. The work is signed, dated, and numbered 4/15 in the lower right recto corner, with other sizes available. It is unframed and printed later...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
Amber Hour: Abstract Geometric Photography, Archival Pigment Print
Located in Miami, FL
Amber Hour reduces a row of rooftops to black silhouette under a sky that has gone entirely amber, with a few lit windows holding the only detail. The cloud in the upper half carries...
Archival Pigment
$426Sale Price|69% Off
Green in Violet Photography Print Limited Edition
Located in Slovak Republic, SK
Print, limited edition of 5, signed by the author.
Color, Digital
Red MiG, Mikoyan Gourevitch MiG-17-PF, Chino, USA
Located in New York City, NY
27 x 44 in Edition of 9 EUR 3.500 35 x 57 in Edition of 9 EUR 5.500 48 x 71 in Edition of 9 EUR 7.100 Dye Sublimation on Aluminum 48 x 77 in Edition of 9 EUR 9.100 Dye Sublimation...
Dye Transfer
$742Sale Price|20% Off
Impression Photography Fine Art Print Limited Edition
Located in Slovak Republic, SK
Limited edition of 15, fine art print, signed by the author.
Digital, Digital Pigment
$352Sale Price|59% Off
Scissors Photography Fine Art Print Limited Edition
Located in Slovak Republic, SK
Fine art print, limited 15. Signed by the author. Immediate inspiration when looking at the wall.
Digital
$250Sale Price|82% Off
Saint Limited Edition Fine Art Print, Abstract Digital Color
Located in Slovak Republic, SK
Fine art print, limited edition of 15.
Color, Digital
30x30in. Aerial Photography of Earth, Land, Sea - BT 014
By MAE Curates
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This is a new series of photography of land art depicting Earth and its land forms taken from the air. This series of aerial photography captures Earth's beauty taken in remote lands...
C Print