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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
Pair of Antique Italian Mirrored Obelisks
Pair of Antique Italian Mirrored Obelisks

Pair of Antique Italian Mirrored Obelisks

Located in Palm Beach, FL

Standout pair of 19th Century neoclassical Italian obelisks clad in mirrored sections with etched floral designs now oxidized to perfection with the expected imperfections. Presented...

Category

Late 19th Century Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Mirror

"Tectonics 05"
"Tectonics 05"

"Tectonics 05"

Located in Edinburgh, GB

This wooden wall sculpture is part of the “Tectonics” series. The series explores structure, tension, and the relationship between surface and depth. Through carving and controlled ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Wood, Mixed Media

"Tectonics 025"
"Tectonics 025"

"Tectonics 025"

Located in Edinburgh, GB

This wooden wall sculpture is part of the “Tectonics” series. The series explores structure, tension, and the relationship between surface and depth. Through carving and controlled ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Wood, Mixed Media

Expanding Universe

Expanding Universe

By Janine Sopp

Located in Boston, MA

Artist Commentary: My work is spontaneous, like writing or dancing to the energy I feel. I begin with slabs in a puzzle-like formation, take a deep breath, and exhale what I feel int...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

American Contemporary Sculpture by Scott Troxel - Divergence
American Contemporary Sculpture by Scott Troxel - Divergence

American Contemporary Sculpture by Scott Troxel - Divergence

By Scott Troxel

Located in Paris, IDF

Artwork made in latex washes, enamel, birch & lacquer on MDF Scott Troxel has exhibited his work at numerous fairs and exhibitions across the United States, including The Other Art ...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Lacquer, Mixed Media, Birch, Acrylic

COSMIC SYMPHONY
COSMIC SYMPHONY

COSMIC SYMPHONY

Located in Edinburgh, GB

MEDIUM/MATERIALS: Chipboard, acrylic, enamel

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Enamel

Tall Metallic Palladium Abstract Expressionist Brutalist Totem Sculpture
Tall Metallic Palladium Abstract Expressionist Brutalist Totem Sculpture

Tall Metallic Palladium Abstract Expressionist Brutalist Totem Sculpture

By Judy Engel

Located in Hudson, NY

Hand built heavily glazed solid ceramic structure by NY artist Judy Engel. Expressionist style hand built and heavily glazed in a high metallic palladium glaze. Judy's first introduction to this style was the Empire State Plaza in Albany, NY. "In the 1970s, upstate school kids...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic, Glaze

Wall Stack IV : contemporary modern geometric sculpture

Wall Stack IV : contemporary modern geometric sculpture

By Greg Chann

Located in New York, NY

Greg Chann creates contemporary modern abstract geometric sculptures. His constructions are complex interwoven systems of physical elements varying in size, material, and color. Thes...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Acrylic

Indigo & Hyacinth Ellipse
Indigo & Hyacinth Ellipse

Indigo & Hyacinth Ellipse

By David Patchen

Located in Napa, CA

David Patchen creates vivid and luminous glass works using the time-honored techniques of cane and murrine glass blowing, originally discovered in the glass blowing studios of Venic...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Blown Glass

HiCy
HiCy

HiCy

By Donald Martiny

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...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Acrylic Polymer, Pigment

"Tectonics 026"
"Tectonics 026"

"Tectonics 026"

Located in Edinburgh, GB

Experience the captivating "Tectonics 026", a striking wall sculpture that delves into the interplay of structure and rhythm. This oversized piece, meticulously crafted from carved a...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Wood, Mixed Media

TEMPS SUSPENDU
TEMPS SUSPENDU

TEMPS SUSPENDU

By Sophia Vari

Located in New York, NY

Bronze sculpture with black patina and red paint. Suitable for outdoor or indoor installation.

Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Blue Diamond - Abstract Aluminum Outdoor Sculpture
Blue Diamond - Abstract Aluminum Outdoor Sculpture

Blue Diamond - Abstract Aluminum Outdoor Sculpture

By Eric Tardif

Located in Bloomfield, ON

Quebec artist Éric Tardif’s colourful and engaging abstract sculptures invite the viewer to think about their own relationship to the environment. Sculpting allows Tardif to explore ...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Metal

Bliss #4
Bliss #4

Bliss #4

Located in West Hollywood, CA

Bliss exemplifies Thomas Piekunka’s distinctive “freed painting” technique, a process that expands painting beyond the confines of the canvas. Layers of acrylic are built up, release...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Acrylic

Light-Glyph (Blue)
Light-Glyph (Blue)

Light-Glyph (Blue)

By Casper Brindle

Located in Santa Monica, CA

Brindle’s Light Glyph’s, are luminescent and mercurial sculptures, constantly shifting in hue as the viewer moves around them. Absorbing and reflecting light, they have a meditative ...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Acrylic Polymer, Automotive Paint, Acrylic

(4 pieces) Rolling dice/Turning luck, Marble Sculpture, Suitable for Outdoors
(4 pieces) Rolling dice/Turning luck, Marble Sculpture, Suitable for Outdoors

(4 pieces) Rolling dice/Turning luck, Marble Sculpture, Suitable for Outdoors

By Bertalan Andrasfalvy

Located in Boston, MA

Artist Commentary: Rolling dice, turning luck! All 6 sides of the dice has the same probability. When the dice is cubic, the results are digital, but when the dice getting closer to the ball shape the results could be analog and infinite when it is a perfect ball. Old cobblestones were used to make the heavy dices. In 3 steps the cube became a ball, a real rolling dice. Keywords: Abstract, dice, 4 pieces, black, white Artist Biography: Born in Hungary, Andrasfalvy is 50, with swift dark eyes, a chiseled jaw, and a casually athletic frame that stretch, well over six feet. He exudes a quiet restlessness. He holds an M.D., a Ph.D., and two curricula vitae—one that lists eleven peer-reviewed publications on neuronal physiology, and another that describes dozens of sculptures, several of them commissioned and many gifts. The pivot between art and science started early. When Andrasfalvy was 10 years old, his father gave him a woodcarving set. By age 20, he had completed his first stone sculpture—and was on the path to medical school. Ever since, he’s spent weekends sculpting leftover granite or marble...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Granite, Marble

Light-Glyph (Pink)
Light-Glyph (Pink)

Light-Glyph (Pink)

By Casper Brindle

Located in Santa Monica, CA

Brindle’s Light Glyph’s, are luminescent and mercurial sculptures, constantly shifting in hue as the viewer moves around them. Absorbing and reflecting light, they have a meditative ...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Acrylic Polymer, Automotive Paint, Acrylic

Ceramic #2013
Ceramic #2013

Ceramic #2013

By Alice Federico

Located in Fairfield, CT

Alice Federico was born in Selma, Alabama in 1945. She received a BA degree in history from Hollins University (1967), an MFA in ceramics from East Carolina University (1977), as well as a BFA from Kansas City Art Institute (1983). Trained first as an historian, historical pots have always had an influence on her work. That influence includes Chinese Sung ware...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

Blockhead
Blockhead

Ben WatkiinsBlockhead, 2020

$4,400Sale Price|20% Off

Blockhead

Located in Lincoln, RI

This low relief sculpture is created by casting hydrocal FGR 95 (a very hard plaster) over a hand sculpted oil clay design. Once the hydrocal is...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Copper

"Circle 48"
"Circle 48"

"Circle 48"

Located in Edinburgh, GB

Circle 48 is a hand-carved wood relief that brings the energy of the city indoors. The abstract, geometric pattern is made up of many carefully shaped indentations that create a surf...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Wood, Mixed Media

#99 Reflections Series  by Yih-Wen Kuo
#99 Reflections Series  by Yih-Wen Kuo

#99 Reflections Series by Yih-Wen Kuo

Located in Morton Grove, IL

#99 Reflections Series (INV# NP4025) Yih-Wen Kuo clay and glazes 23 x 27.5 x 9” signed Yih-Wen Kuo - Born in Taiwan, Yih-Wen Kuo began his studies at the National Taiwan Normal Uni...

Category

Early 2000s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

Space and Time I : small interior sculpture out of clay

Space and Time I : small interior sculpture out of clay

By Katie Yang

Located in New York, NY

Katie Yang's abstract ceramic sculptures delve into the unknowable nature of our world, exploring the interplay between control and chance. Influenced by artistic traditions from bot...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain

Ceramic #2010

Ceramic #2010

By Alice Federico

Located in Fairfield, CT

Alice Federico was born in Selma, Alabama in 1945. She received a BA degree in history from Hollins University (1967), an MFA in ceramics from East Carolina University (1977), as wel...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

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.