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.
$20,000
"Dark Star #2", Organic, Abstract, Aluminum Metal Sculpture, Tabletop Size
Located in New York, NY
"Dark Star #2" by Norman Mooney Edition of 10 + 2AP Mirror-polished aluminum In 1994 Mooney moved from Ireland to New York City and has been exhibiting loca...
Metal
Ivars Miķelsons (1962) , Bronze H 138 cm; W28 cm; L28 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Ivars Miķelsons (1962)
Bronze
$1,120Sale Price|20% Off
Tempest
Located in New York, NY
Stainless Steel TIG Welding Rod, Aluminum, Fishing Accessories, Wire, Paint Jeremy Bullis after David L. Bullis Edition 1/5
Steel, Wire
"Pojagi Construction I" Jin-Sook So, Contemporary Korean mixed media artwork
By Jin-Sook So
Located in Wilton, CT
This abstract geometric mixed media piece was done by fiber artist, Jin-Sook So (b. 1950, Korea). So grew up in Seoul, Korea where she received a master's degree in textile art, afte...
Metal, Silver, Steel, Gold Leaf
Reliefes Wall Sculpture, Abstract Geometric, Resin and Pigment
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Bark and Reliefs, 2018 By Carla Gimbatti From the Series Reliefs Aquaresin and Pigment Overall size: 79 H x 16.6 W in. Individual size:79 H x 8.3 W in. each _____ After graduating ...
Resin, Pigment
"Soft Swirl" Vibrant Hand Embroidery and Color Pencil on Paper
By Kelly Kozma
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This fibers, drawing, and sculptural work titled "Soft Swirl" is an original artwork by Kelly Kozma made of hand-embroidery, colored pencil, and acrylic paint on paper. The artist us...
Fabric, Thread, Found Objects
White Serenity (Abstract Sculpture)
Located in London, GB
Aluminum sheet, metal wire and acrylic - mobile "Limited edition of 8 1/8 Available on request — 3 week turnaround " Amaury Maillet is a self-taught artist who explored art in Pro...
Metal
Jackson Pollock Bearbrick 400% (Jackson Pollock BE@RBRICK)
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Jackson Pollock 400% & 100% Bearbrick Vinyl Figure (set of 2): A rare highly collectible Bearbrick Jackson Pollock statue piece, splattered from head to toe in Pollock’s signature a...
Resin, Vinyl
Golden Apples 57
Located in Santa Fe, NM
Hand Built and glazed ceramic. Free standing, two pieces (sphere and stand). My interest in clay as an artistic medium began in 1984. Like most beginners in the medium, I focused ...
Ceramic
Untitled PB3
Located in Boston, MA
Artist Commentary: In my sculpture, I have always combined unrelated materials to represent oppositions such as hard and soft, ephemeral and enduring, open and closed, and natural an...
Plastic
Sound of the Fjord, Contemporary Scandinavian Woven Textile, by Åse Ljones
By Åse Ljones
Located in Wilton, CT
Åse Ljones’ hand-embroidered tapestry Sound on the Fjord reflects Ljones’ upbringing on a small rural farm, where sea and nature were close by. Ljones start...
Fabric, Textile, Tapestry, Thread
Lime Glow, Jo Barker, Colorful Contemporary Woven Textile
By Jo Barker
Located in Wilton, CT
Lime Glow, Jo Barker, woven on cotton warp using wool, cotton, linen, silk, embroidery threads, 29" x 30.75" x 1.5", 2010 This colorful contemporary abstract textile is by British...
Fabric, Textile, Tapestry, Wool, Cotton, Linen, Silk, Thread
Not Square (Green plus Pinks)
By Lizzie Scott
Located in Dallas, TX
Flashe on muslin with mixed textiles
Muslin
Abstract Form No. 1
Located in Columbia, MO
EMERSON WOELFFER Abstract Form No. 1 1979 Porcelain on wooden plinth 3.5 x 3.5 x 11.5 inches
Wood
Cephalopod, Original Biomorphic Sculpture
Located in Boston, MA
Cephalopod 33.75 x 43.0 x 0.03, 0.31 lbs Handmade paper, mixed media Hand signed by artist Artist's Commentary: "'Cephalopod' is a biomorphic work carved in Maltese limestone. It...
Limestone
"Infinity"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
The shape of the sculpture is a complex intertwining of smooth, curved metal lines, resembling an abstract symbol of infinity. The mirror-like surface of the bronze reflects light, c...
Granite, Bronze
Double Diddle Phlebotomy Movement #16: Abstract Paper Sculpture
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Original hand-cut paper and ink on illustration board layered paper sculpture by Charles Clary measuring 15"h x 12"w. This piece ships in the pictured black frame. Charles Clary wa...
Paper, Ink, Illustration Board
Double Diddle Phlebotomy Movement #15: Abstract Paper and Ink Art
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Original hand-cut, layered paper and ink on illustration board by Charles Clary measuring 15"h x 12"w. This piece ships in the pictured black frame. Charles Clary was born in 1980 ...
Paper, Ink, Illustration Board
Golden Apples 49
Located in Santa Fe, NM
Hand Built and glazed ceramic. Free standing, two pieces (sphere and stand). My interest in clay as an artistic medium began in 1984. Like most beginners in the medium, I focused ...
Ceramic
Studio Visitors
By Robin Antar
Located in Wiscasett, ME
Robin Antar: One day I woke up and said to myself, "I want to have some people visit my studio." I could not let anyone in because of COVID-19 so I decided to cut studio visitors out of stone. These pieces are carved out of a very rare piece of blue onyx. American sculptor Robin Antar has been called “Brooklyn’s answer to Andy Warhol.” Her mission is to create a visual record of modern American culture through commonplace objects as she explores the question, “What is America?” Meticulously carved in stone, a hamburger with fries, an American-made work boot, denim jeans and a giant "Ballpark Frank...
Stone
African Carved Wood Male Sculpture
Located in San Francisco, CA
This African carved wood figure represents a male ancestor or spirit spouse statue. Standing at an impressive 26.5 inches tall, figures of this size and posture typically serve as fo...
Wood
African Hand-carved Wooden Female Figure
Located in San Francisco, CA
This sculpture is a standing female figure from West Africa. As standalone wooden figures are relatively rare compared to masks, this is quite a notable traditional piece. The head ...
Wood
"Guided Spirit" Unique, Organic, Abstract Metal Sculpture in Steel
Located in New York, NY
"Guided Spirit" by Kevin Barrett Painted steel on a stainless steel base This sculpture measures 76"h and rests on a 28" steel pedestal for a total heigh...
Metal, Steel, Stainless Steel
Twelve Twenty-One
By Lizzie Scott
Located in Dallas, TX
Flashe on muslin with mixed textiles
Muslin, Paint
$4,250
Yours
By Eileen Braun
Located in Atlanta, GA
Eileen Braun delights in creating biomorphic or organic sculptural forms. Although they may look as though they're constructed of metal rods, they're actually created from rattan ree...
Mixed Media
$2,400Sale Price|20% Off
Tantra in Blue #12: minimalist abstract sculpture / painting w/ madala circles
By Antonio Puri
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
Antonio Puri's "Tantra in Blue" sculptural painting is one of 100 intimately-scaled minimalist round mandala circles built from tiny glass seed beads adhe...
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Danielle Bodine "Medusa Tree" Mixed Media, Abstract Free Form Signed
Located in Detroit, MI
SALE ONE WEEK ONLY "Medusa Tree" is a free-flowing sculpture of cane that suggests a figure either emerging from or descending into a tangle of twisting lines. Several parts are painted red or blue or stripped that gives a contrast to the black structure and a spark of energy shooting forth. This piece seems experimental from her more conservative pieces that can be easily identified as basketry, paper forms and shaped objects. Danielle Bodine...
Mixed Media
Name Unknown
Located in New York, NY
Stainless Steel TIG Welding Rod, Aluminum, Fishing Accessories, Wire, Paint Jeremy Bullis after David L. Bullis Edition 1/5
Stainless Steel, Wire
Brutalist Bronze Abstract Modernist Sculpture
Located in Surfside, FL
In the manner of Julio Gonzalez, mixed metal sculpture. Neo-Dada Abstract Sculpture: Assemblages Abstract sculpture followed a slightly different course. Rather than focusing on no...
Bronze, Copper
Large Sculptural Cubist Abstract Painting
Located in Houston, TX
Large colorful sculptural abstract painting by Texas artist Patrick Cronin. Painted with acrylic paint and mixed media, dated 1986.
Mixed Media
White Mastodonte Under Red Moon (Abstract Sculpture)
Located in London, GB
Aluminum sheet, metal wire and acrylic - mobile "Limited edition of 8 1/8 Available on request — 3 week turnaround " Amaury Maillet is a self-taught ...
Metal
$18,000
"White Washed Too" Abstract Paper Wall Relief Sculpture, Mixed Media Collage
Located in New York, NY
"White Washed Too" by Joan Giordano Mixed media, archival newspapers, photographs, corrugated cardboard Museum shown and collected artist Joan Giordano is known for her unique hand ...
Paper, Mixed Media, Cardboard, Newsprint
"Deformation"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
The sculpture has an abstract form with smooth curves, openings and a mirror-polished surface, which creates the effect of a play of light and reflections. It creates a textured part...
Granite, Bronze
"Portal", Hand Cut, Laser Cut Paper Wall Relief Sculpture
By Rogan Brown
Located in New York, NY
"Portal" by Rogan Brown Laser and hand cut paper, framed in plexiglass shadowbox Available by commission. Please allow 8-12 weeks production time. Rogan Brown creates abstract and ...
Paper
American Contemporary Sculpture by Scott Troxel - Wedge
By Scott Troxel
Located in Paris, IDF
Artwork made with acrylic on solid maple with satin clear coat Scott Troxel draws on the aesthetics of bygone technology and the forward-looking designs of the Atomic Age and mid-ce...
Wood, Acrylic
Abstract Cast Glass Sculpture, 'Ha'apai', 2013 by David Ruth
By David Ruth
Located in Oakland, CA
'Ha'apai' is a contemporary abstract cast glass sculpture by David Ruth from his Internal Space series. It features painterly brushstroke formations in glass called trails. Trails ar...
Stainless Steel
"Grandpa's Birthdatay Cake" Sculpture 35 x 29 x 29 in by Yoram Katz
Located in Culver City, CA
"Grandpa's Birthdatay Cake" Sculpture 35 x 29 x 29 in by Yoram Katz Medium: Mix Media, Recycled items Recycling Series Recognizing the importance of environmental issues that face ...
Mixed Media
$56,000
"Celebration de Cinquante" - bronze wall sculpture, leaves, nautical - Nevelson
Located in Atlanta, GA
"Celebration de Cinquante" is a wall sculpture made of fold formed, forged and fabricated bronze and patina. Approximately 45 by 210 by 4.5 inches. The shape and size of the install...
Bronze
$10,000
Chi
Located in Westport, CT
Donald Martiny’s signature work is composed of dispersed pigment on aluminum. He creates immediately frozen brushstrokes that are made from his own movements. They are defined by the...
Acrylic Polymer, Pigment
John Van Alstine - Round Mountain Landscape, Sculpture 2001
Located in Stamford, CT
Round Mountain Landscape, John Van Alstine. Stone and metal, usually granite or slate and found object steel are central in my sculpture. The interaction of these materials is a majo...
Granite, Steel
Medium White LED
Located in Santa Fe, NM
For indoor or outdoor use We create hand-made cast glass works. Using the age-old technique of lost wax casting. We craft forms ranging in shape from jewel-like elements to large sc...
Steel
Jon Brooks Lacquered Wood Sculpture with Colored Pencil, Nestor the Dog, 1988
Located in Milford, NH
A unique sculpture of Nestor the Dog made from lacquered wood with colored pencil by American artist Jon Brooks (20th century). Brooks was born in Mancheste...
Wood, Color Pencil
$12,000
Summer and Winter, Mid-Century Tapestry, Woven Hanging, Textile Wall Sculpture
By Adela Akers
Located in Wilton, CT
Adela Akers (b. 1933, Santiago de Compostela, Spain) is a Spanish-born textile and fiber artist. She is Professor Emeritus (1972 to 1995) at the Tyler Scho...
Textile, Linen, Thread, Yarn, Fabric, Tapestry
Record, Blair Tate, Geometric woven textile wall sculpture
By Blair Tate
Located in Wilton, CT
Record, woven linen, cotton cord, 102" x 27", 2020. This abstract, geometric woven textile wall sculpture is by contemporary American fiber artist, Blair Tate. "In weaving there i...
Fabric, Textile, Tapestry, Cotton, Linen
$3,600
Large Mario Almaguer Cuban Art Welded Painted Steel Abstract Sculpture Modernism
Located in Surfside, FL
Mario Almaguer (b. Marianao, Cuba, 1955) He moved to the U.S. in 1994 to Miami where since has been living and working. Essentially self-taught, he embraced sculpture as his mean for expression. Without any kind of formal academic education or training in the arts, perseverance and praxis made him an artist. His work has been influenced by cuban master Agustin Cardenas and british Henry Moore. In his early years until 1994 he produced a large amount of small and medium scale wooden sculptures. From 1994 to the present, Almaguer creates and produces steel sculptures. It's with his works on steel where he encounters a strong expression with a striking liberty hard to deliver in wood. His monumental sculptures were recently exhibited at Miami Dade...
Steel
$65,000
"Buoy", Industrial, Abstract, Large-Scale Outdoor Sculpture in Metal & Stone
Located in New York, NY
"Buoy" by John Van Alstine Granite and steel The sculpture of John Van Alstine beautifully, and powerfully, balances the union of stone and metal, while exploring the relationship o...
Stone, Granite, Metal, Steel
"Groove" Large Outdoor, Abstract Bronze Metal Sculpture by Kevin Barrett
Located in New York, NY
"Groove" by Kevin Barrett Bronze metal abstract sculpture Barrett is noted for creating unique, rhythmic, abstract indoor and outdoor sculpture and wall reliefs. Organic, Abstrac...
Metal, Bronze
Keith Haring sculptures, Baby (Yellow).
Located in La Canada Flintridge, CA
Keith Haring (1958-1990), After Baby. Painted plexiglass sculpture on a base. Studio Editions. Signed and numbered, limited edition of 50. 32 x 24 x 3 cm; 12.60"x9.5"x1.18". A certif...
Acrylic
Sound Wave
By Eileen Braun
Located in Atlanta, GA
Eileen Braun delights in creating biomorphic or organic sculptural forms. Although they may look as though they're constructed of metal rods, they're actually created from rattan ree...
Rubber, Mixed Media
My Shell (Abstract Sculpture)
Located in London, GB
Aluminum sheet, metal wire and acrylic - mobile Amaury Maillet is a self-taught artist who explored art in Provence and Saint Martin in his childhood. ...
Metal
$65,000
"Untitled 1963 Douglas Fir Wall Sculpture Large Scale Abstract Art Leroy Setziol
Located in Camden, ME
This monumental wood sculpture by Leroy Setziol (1915–2005) is a rare and significant early commission, created in 1963 for the National Bank of Portland, Oregon. Measuring an impres...
Wood
Totem 2
Located in New York, NY
Nayla Kai Saroufim is a Lebanese artist based in Los Angeles and Beirut. She earned a degree in Illustration and Art Direction from the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts. She had wor...
Resin, Acrylic
"Back from the Yellow Brick Road" Large-Scale, Abstract Metal Sculpture, Yellow
Located in New York, NY
"Back from the Yellow Brick Road" by Richard Pitts Powder-coated aluminum Richard Pitts works in many media, from steel to wood to bronze to aluminum, not to mention his paintings. ...
Metal
Pair, Red Woven Abstract Tapestry of Figures, Textile Sculpture
By Lilla Kulka
Located in Wilton, CT
Pair, sisal, wool, stilon, 125" x 77", 1989. This large figurative, abstract tapestry was done by textile artist, Lilla Kulka (b. 1946, Krakow, Poland). Artist Statement: "I creat...
Fabric, Textile, Tapestry, Wool, Thread
$65,284
Trois mandolines
By Arman
Located in PARIS, FR
This exceptional bronze table by Arman transforms musical instruments into functional sculpture. Composed of three mandolins cast in bronze and fused into the structure, the piece ex...
Bronze
Stuart Mathews Brutalist Wall Sculpture in Mixed Metals Brass Bronze Copper
Located in Dallas, TX
This striking wall sculpture by prolific mid-century Texas artist, Stuart Mathews, exemplifies his mastery in blending mixed metals into compelling abstract forms. Mathews—who honed ...
Metal
American Contemporary Sculpture by Scott Troxel - Flow Meter
By Scott Troxel
Located in Paris, IDF
Pigmented satin lacquer on solid maple Scott Troxel has exhibited his work at numerous fairs and exhibitions across the United States, including The Other Art Fair in NYC, Texas Con...
Maple, Lacquer, Pigment
"Achilles" Abstract, Bronze Metal Sculpture, Tabletop Size
Located in New York, NY
"Achilles" Abstract Sculpture by Kevin Barrett Bronze Barrett is noted for creating unique, rhythmic, abstract indoor and outdoor sculpture and wall reliefs. Bronze Metal Sculpture...
Bronze, Metal
Attitudes, Glass and Polished Brass Sculpture by Jaworksi
By David Jaworski
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: David Jaworsky, American Title: Attitudes Year: 1991 Medium: Blown Glass and Bronze with a Marble Base Size: 31 x 20 x 24 in. (78.74 x 50.8 x 60.96 cm) Base: 16 x 2 x 16 ...
Marble, Bronze
Santiago Medina - COSMOS TABLE TOP, Sculpture 2022
Located in Stamford, CT
Italian Stainless Steel With Hyperthermal Prismatic Patina This sculpture will be shipped directly from the artist's studio.
Metal, Stainless Steel