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Abstract Sculptures

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
American Contemporary Sculpture by Scott Troxel - Mint
American Contemporary Sculpture by Scott Troxel - Mint

American Contemporary Sculpture by Scott Troxel - Mint

By Scott Troxel

Located in Paris, IDF

Mint 24" x 36” x 1”-2020. Mixed Media – Wood, paint, lacquer on MDF Mint is an elegant modern and minimalist contemporary wall sculpture. It is constructed with birch panels and acr...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Enamel

Name Unknown
Name Unknown

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

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Stainless Steel, Wire

"Soft Swirl" Vibrant Hand Embroidery and Color Pencil on Paper
"Soft Swirl" Vibrant Hand Embroidery and Color Pencil on Paper

"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...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Fabric, Thread, Found Objects

"Untitled" Sidney Gordin, Abstract Metal Steel Sculpture
"Untitled" Sidney Gordin, Abstract Metal Steel Sculpture

"Untitled" Sidney Gordin, Abstract Metal Steel Sculpture

By Sidney Gordin

Located in New York, NY

Sidney Gordin Untitled, 1958 Incised with initials Welded Steel 15 x 10 1/2 x 6 inches Provenance: Eric Firestone Gallery, New York On October 24, 1918, Sidney Gordin was born in Chelyabinsk, Russia. He spent his early years in Shanghai, China. At the age of four, he moved with his family to New York. Gordin’s nephew, Eliot Nemzer recalls that when Gordin was a child he attended “a dinner party with his parents. Someone showed him a book of pictures that when thumbed through quickly made the image appear to move. This person then gave him a wad of blank papers and something to write with. Sid created a similar type of moving image with his materials. All the adults at the party became quite excited [and] praised his efforts. Sid told me he thought this was a pivotal experience in guiding him towards his vocation.” During his formative years at Brooklyn Technical High School, he briefly contemplated the idea of becoming an architect; yet, by the time he enrolled at Cooper Union, he was determined to become a professional artist. There, he studied under Morris Kantor (1896-1974) and Leo Katz...

Category

1950s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Steel

NorEaster

NorEaster

By Ed Haugevik

Located in New York, NY

Abstract Sculpture. Painted White. About the Artist: Ed Haugevik has established a career as professional sculptor placing his work at numerous private and public sites througho...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Stainless Steel

"Victim of War (WWII)" Signed, Stainless Steel Sculpture
"Victim of War (WWII)" Signed, Stainless Steel Sculpture

"Victim of War (WWII)" Signed, Stainless Steel Sculpture

Located in Chesterfield, MI

This dramatic stainless steel sculpture titled "Victim of War" by Marian Owczarski depicts a falling figure reaching towards the sky. The figure is suspended by a single leg which Ow...

Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Stainless Steel

Rendezvous
Rendezvous

Rendezvous

By Kevin Barrett

Located in New York, NY

"Rendezvous" by Kevin Barrett Bronze Barrett is noted for creating unique, rhythmic, abstract indoor and outdoor sculpture and wall reliefs. Bronze Metal Outdoor Sculpture...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Bronze, Metal

The Precious
The Precious

The Precious

Located in Brooklyn, NY

Stephen Lee is a Korean-American sculptor based in Dallas, Texas. Born in South Korea and immigrating to the United States as a teenager, Lee draws from a dual set of cultural influe...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Bronze, Steel

Sheer
Sheer

Sheer

By Michael Thacker

Located in Belgravia, London, London

"Sheer" by Michael Thacker British, 21st Century Rose Aurora Marble Sculpture size (HxWxD): 13.75 x 10.5 x 5 inches

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Marble

Cloud

Cloud

By Hans Van de Bovenkamp

Located in Greenwich, CT

Dutch, b. 1938 Renowned for his monumental sculpture created primarily for open-air public locales, Hans Van de Bovenkamp has been described as an artist-mystic whose work -- with i...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Large Latin American Modernist Bronze Abstract Cuban Master Roberto Estopinan
Large Latin American Modernist Bronze Abstract Cuban Master Roberto Estopinan

Large Latin American Modernist Bronze Abstract Cuban Master Roberto Estopinan

By Roberto Estopiñan

Located in Surfside, FL

Roberto Estopinan, Cuban, 1920 - 2015 Dimensions: 24.5" wide x 13" high plus 6" high base. Roberto Estopiñán (1921–2015) was a Cuban American sculptor known for his sculptures of the human form, including political prisoners. Born in Camaguey, Cuba, he lived in the United States for over fifty years. His works are held by major institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum and the Smithsonian Museum of American Art. Roberto Gabriel Estopinan, a sculptor, draftsman, and printmaker, was born in Havana, Cuba on March 18, 1921. Estopiñán enrolled at the San Alejandro Academy when he was just 14 years old and became the protegé and studio assistant of the sculptor Juan José Sicre. After graduation he traveled first to Mexico, where he met and befriended Francisco Zuniga, and studied Pre-Columbian sculpture. In 1949 he traveled to Europe, visiting England, France and Italy. In these trips he encountered the sculpture of Henry Moore and Marino Marini, and their humanistic yet formal visions would be influential on Estopinan's work. Estopiñán was a pioneer of direct carvings using wood and of welding techniques in Latin America. Throughout the 1950s, Estopiñán received important prizes at various national exhibitions in Havana. In 1953 he was the only semi-finalist from Latin America at the Tate Gallery's international sculpture competition for a Monument to the Unknown Political Prisoner. In 1961, the artist moved to New York, where he resided until 2002. Roberto Gabriel Estopiñán a Cuban emigre sculptor who emigrated to exile in the United States not long after Fidel Castro’s revolution in 1959, is considered one of Latin America’s most important 20th-century artists. His work, which includes drawings and prints as well as sculptures in wood and bronze, is in the collections of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Detroit Institute of Art, among many locations. He is best known for his stark, disturbing renderings of political prisoners, the fruit of his own experiences as a dissident under both Castro and his predecessor, the dictator Fulgencio Batista, and for his representations of the female torso that can remind viewers of both classical statuary and the high-modern, abstractly elongated work of Henry Moore.mHe was born in Havana to a father from Asturias in northwest Spain and a mother of African descent. Estopiñán was something of a prodigy. At the age of fourteen, he won the first prize in drawing at the Centro Asturiano, a regional association for Cubans of Asturian descent. Shortly afterward he received special permission to enter the San Alejandro Academy of Fine Arts in Havana. At the school he was mentored first by its director, the painter Armando Menocal (1863-1941), then by the landscape artist Antonio Rodríguez Morey (1872-1967), and finally by Juan José Sicre (1898-1974), regarded as one of Cuba’s greatest sculptors. Sicre, a professor of sculpture at the Academy, had helped introduce European modernist art to Cuba, and from the 1930s through the 1950s had sculpted monumental figures in Havana of José Martí and other Cuban national heroes that stand to this day. Estopiñán was first Sicre’s student, then his assistant, and, finally, his colleague for the next fifty years. After graduating from San Alejandro in 1942, Estopiñán began simultaneously teaching art at the Ceiba del Agua School for young men, assisting Sicre in public art projects and developing his own artistic vision. He also traveled widely, to Mexico, New York, France, and Italy. From the late 1940s through the 1950s his sculpture evolved from an early neoclassical phase under the influence of Maillol to what he defined as “formalist humanism”: emphasizing the abstract beauty of the shapes he sculpted while not abandoning the human figure as the basis of his work. As the 1950s progressed he chose to carve in native Cuban woods...

Category

20th Century Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Argentine Modernist Brutalist Abstract Bronze Sculpture Jewish Latin American
Argentine Modernist Brutalist Abstract Bronze Sculpture Jewish Latin American

Argentine Modernist Brutalist Abstract Bronze Sculpture Jewish Latin American

By Naum Knop

Located in Surfside, FL

Naum Knop (Ukrainian-Argentinean, 1917-1993) Modernist Brutalist bronze figural sculpture with heavy verdigris green finish. Melted forms in the shape of an abstract pretzel like twist. Affixed to white stone plinth. Artist signature, "NK" side of base. Good condition, shows rich green patina and aged oxidation. Measures approximately 17.5 in. x 19.5 in. x 6.5 in. Naum Knop, Argentine sculptor, was born in 1917 in Buenos Aires, into a Jewish family of Russian origin from Ukraine. His childhood was spent in the neighborhood of La Paternal where his father had a carpentry workshop, a space in which he made contact for the first time with the technique of wood carving. After finishing elementary school, he worked with the teacher Luis Fernández and soon after he dedicated himself to furniture design. Around 1935, he entered the Manuel Belgrano School of Fine Arts . Between 1941 and 1942 he attended the course for graduates taught by Alberto Lagos and Alfredo Bigatti at the National School of Fine Arts and continued his training between 1942-1945 at the Ernesto de la Cárcova High School with Soto Avedaño, Carlos de la Cárcova and José Fioravanti. At this time he put his works in dialogue with other young artists such as Libero Badii and Aurelio Macchi . Around 1947 he made his study trip abroad. He goes to California, United States, where he enters the Art Institute of Los Angeles. At the same time visit museums and galleries. In January 1948 he organized his first exhibition abroad, held at the Hall of Arts in Beverly Hills in Los Angeles. During this period he toured Chicago and then New York. That year he traveled to Europe; his itinerary includes France, Italy, Switzerland and England. As a result, he came into contact with the work of Henry Moore, Hans Jean Arp, Jacques Lipchitz, Constantin Brancusi, Umberto Boccioni, Henry Laurens, Ossip Zadkine. Artists who have an impact on the young Knop and whom he honors in his subsequent production. He returned to Argentina in 1949 and installed his workshop where he worked on ornamental carving and on pieces in which he oscillated between a synthetic figuration and abstraction. In 1956 he began his successful participation in salons , obtaining numerous awards at the national and municipal level. In 1959 he participated in the shipment to the 5th São Paulo Biennial and since then, to the success achieved at the local level, the multiple exhibitions carried out in the international field have been added. The exhibitions in Tel Aviv , Jerusalem and Rome (1966) stand out; Dusseldorf (1977); Los Angeles and Palm Spring (1981); New York (1986), San Pablo and Los Angeles(1989). During this period, his work matured, while he began to experiment with the direct wax technique, obtaining textured surfaces similar to welds that gave it a strong abstract expressionist feature. In parallel to his personal production and to the small models, the artist receives private and public commissions for which he works on large-scale sculptures and murals. Around 1967, the architect Mario R. Álvarez summons him to participate in a closed competition for the creation of a work to be located in the General San Martín Cultural Center . Libero Badii and Enio Iommi participate with the artist ; the bronze Reclining Figure Knop is chosen. Among the large-scale monuments it is worth remembering the piece Los tres soles temporarily located in Recoleta in 1984 and later installed in Maryland, United States; as well as Seated Figure (Reminiscence of Michelangelo) located in the shield of a private building in 1970. To these are added the numerous murals in which he experiments with various materials and techniques such as casting in bronze, openwork and reliefs in wood and work in cement. He was included in the The 1962 International Prize for Sculpture the jury included Argan, Romero Brest and James Johnson Sweeney the former director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. The participants included Louise Nevelson and John Chamberlain for the United States; Lygia Clark for Brazil; Pietro Consagra, Lucio Fontana, Nino Franchina, and Gió Pomodoro for Italy; Pablo Serrano for Spain; and Eduardo Paolozzi, William Turnbull, and Kenneth Armitage for England. Gyula Kosice, Noemí Gerstein, Julio Gero, Naum Knop, Aldo Paparella, Enrique Romano, Eduardo Sabelli, and Luis Alberto...

Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Stone, Bronze

Curt Beckmann, Draped Figure, Bronze, German Abstract, Rhenish Secession
Curt Beckmann, Draped Figure, Bronze, German Abstract, Rhenish Secession

Curt Beckmann, Draped Figure, Bronze, German Abstract, Rhenish Secession

By Curt Beckmann

Located in Eltville am Rhein, DE

Curt Beckman Solingen 1901 – 1970 Düsseldorf Figured sculpture Bronze Unsigned Height 15.5 cm Good condition (see photos) Viewing and collection are welcome by prior appointment ...

Category

1970s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Abstract Cast Glass Sculpture, 'Ha'apai', 2013 by David Ruth
Abstract Cast Glass Sculpture, 'Ha'apai', 2013 by David Ruth

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...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Stainless Steel

Name Unknown
Name Unknown

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

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Stainless Steel, Wire

Relic

Relic

Located in Phoenix, AZ

glass and bronze Keith Cummings is a celebrated artist, as well as an educator and author. He specializes in casting sculptures from glass, often combined with metal. Cummings is cr...

Category

1980s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Brutalist Bronze Abstract Modernist Sculpture
Brutalist Bronze Abstract Modernist Sculpture

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...

Category

20th Century Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Bronze, Copper

Fertile Sea: white abstract relief sculpture of the ocean, wall or shelf mounted
Fertile Sea: white abstract relief sculpture of the ocean, wall or shelf mounted

Fertile Sea: white abstract relief sculpture of the ocean, wall or shelf mounted

By Ava Blitz

Located in Bryn Mawr, PA

This is a white, plaster cast sculpture designed to be mounted directly to the wall or installed on a shelf. It is an abstract image evoking the churning sea. It is reminiscent of a fossil or natural or scientific curiosity in a "Wunderkammer," or historical cabinet of curiosities. It is signed on the back. Ava Blitz...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Plaster

ALCHEMICAL TABLES
ALCHEMICAL TABLES

ALCHEMICAL TABLES

Located in Edinburgh, GB

Astian Rey "ALCHEMICAL TABLES" Dimensions of the second sculpture: Height 105 cm Width 50 cm Depth 5,5 cm

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Wood

American Contemporary Sculpture by Scott Troxel - King
American Contemporary Sculpture by Scott Troxel - King

American Contemporary Sculpture by Scott Troxel - King

By Scott Troxel

Located in Paris, IDF

Artwork made with Suede Venetian paint, latex, birch, MDF & wax Scott Troxel has exhibited his work at numerous fairs and exhibitions across the United States, including The Other A...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Wood, Paint, Latex, Birch, Wax

Danielle Bodine "Medusa Tree" Mixed Media, Abstract Free Form Signed
Danielle Bodine "Medusa Tree" Mixed Media, Abstract Free Form Signed

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...

Category

1990s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Mixed Media

Swept 1- black 3D organic feel contemporary abstract mural sculpture
Swept 1- black 3D organic feel contemporary abstract mural sculpture

Swept 1- black 3D organic feel contemporary abstract mural sculpture

Located in New York, NY

Erin Vincent is a Toronto based-artist whose work draws on a variety of repetitive and labor intensive processes and materials. Things and common objects have always fascinated Vinc...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Resin, Foam, Acrylic, Wood Panel, Archival Paper

Assiduosly without  words
Assiduosly without  words

Assiduosly without words

By L.G.

Located in Paris, FR

One of a kind Blown and fused Glass Sculpture in brown/black, bluish black, opaque white and White sandblasted. Includes its black metal base ( about 32 cm X 10 cm X 18 cm ). Tota...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Blown Glass

Bronze Sculpture 'O.T. I' by Carola Eggeling
Bronze Sculpture 'O.T. I' by Carola Eggeling

Bronze Sculpture 'O.T. I' by Carola Eggeling

By Carola Eggeling

Located in Paris, FR

Bronze Sculpture 'O.T.I' by Carola Eggeling Abstract sculpture with beautiful curved lines. German bronze sculpture Bronze Polished Certificate of authenticity Numbered and signed ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Abstract sculptures for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Abstract sculptures 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 sculptures created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, red, purple, green and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Scott Troxel, John Van Alstine, Marty Mackenzie, and Stephen Walling. Frequently made by artists working with Wood, and Paint 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 sculptures, so small editions measuring 0.38 inches across are also available. Prices for sculptures 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 $11 and tops out at $1,400,000, while the average work sells for $4,500.