Abstract Abstract Sculptures
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.
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Clay, Mirror, Varnish, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Porcelain, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Metal
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Alabaster, Marble
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Clay, Mirror, Varnish, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Steel
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Stone
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Wood, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Metal
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Metal
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Metal
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Metal
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Wood, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Steel
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Wood Panel, Archival Pigment
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Porcelain, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Plastic, Spray Paint
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Sandstone
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Metal
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Wood Panel, Archival Pigment
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Maple, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Plexiglass, Paper
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Metal
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Metal
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Acrylic, Mahogany, Maple
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Archival Pigment, Wood Panel
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Plastic, Spray Paint, Panel
1960s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Marble
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Maple, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Other Medium
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Mahogany, Walnut, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Sandstone
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Porcelain, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Acrylic, Maple
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Wood, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Maple
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Maple, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Maple, Acrylic, Mahogany
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Wood, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Acrylic, Birch
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Lacquer, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Wood, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Wood, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Birch, Wax
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Mahogany, Oak, Spray Paint
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Acrylic, Birch, Lacquer
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Birch, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Poplar, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Wood, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Birch, Lacquer
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Maple, Acrylic
1980s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Wood, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Birch, Lacquer
2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Metal