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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
Constructivist contemporary modern cube sculpture Homage to Van Doesburg
Located in Doetinchem, NL
Homage to Van Doesburg is a unique small size contemporary modern cube sculpture by the famous Dutch artist couple Nel Haringa and Fred Olijve. The cube s...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Plexiglass

"No Place Like Chrome" Metallic Abstract Painting
Located in Westport, CT
This abstract painting by Teodora Guererra features a metallic silver palette. The paint is layered thickly on canvas in wide, gestural strokes, creating a highly textured surface. I...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Murano Glass Sculpture Abstract Face Handcrafted by Paul Kostabi
Located in Winterswijk, NL
This unique Murano glass sculpture by Paul Kostabi is a unique example of Venetian craftsmanship. Mouth-blown and hand-cut at the Hofmeister Glass Factory in Amberg, it is a truly un...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Glass, Blown Glass

1974 Ugo La Pietra Ad Arte Red Bronze Abstract Sculpture
Located in Brescia, IT
This artwork is a multiples limited not numbered specimens created by the Italian artist Ugo La Pietra, a well known Internationally artist. Ugo La Pietra was born in Bussi Sul Tir...
Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Ice vibes. "Emotional states" series
Located in Zofingen, AG
This series of sculptures is called Emotional States. It was created in 2023 in Kyiv (Ukraine). I lived and worked all year in my hometown in the middle of a Big war. I experienced a...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Textile, Wood, Acrylic

Metamorphosis abstract nude 1960s sculpture by John Robert Murray McCheyne
Located in London, GB
To see our other Modern British Art, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the artist you ...
Category

1960s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Wood

Smile 2.0. "Emotional states" series
Located in Zofingen, AG
This series of sculptures is called Emotional States. It was created in 2023 in Kyiv (Ukraine). I lived and worked all year in my hometown in the middle of a Big war. I experienced a...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Textile, Wood, Acrylic

Abstract Cast Glass Sculpture, 'Sanawa', 2008 by David Ruth
Located in Oakland, CA
'Sanawa' is a contemporary abstract glass by artist David Ruth. Created in 2008, it was a piece in a series about the David's views on the American invasion of Iraq. "In 2005, a fe...
Category

Early 2000s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Steel

CONTEMPORARY ABSTRACT Sculpture Light IV Italian Giorgio Petracci
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Size: 13x9x14 cm Pedestal not included Medium: Wood, acrylic and holographic print At Escat Gallery we are committed to maintaining the highest st...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Wood, Acrylic

"Plum Neutral I & II " A Pair of Textured Abstract Paintings
Located in Westport, CT
This pair of textured abstract paintings by Teodora Guererra features a light, greyscale palette with subtle warm accents throughout the composition. The artist layers thick strokes ...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Acrylic, Board

Tantra 67: minimalist abstract spiritual mandala sculpture painting, red circles
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
Antonio Puri's "Tantra" sculptural painting is one of 100 intimately-scaled minimalist round mandala circles built from tiny seed beads adhered to canvas ...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic

1978 Italy Stainless Steel Abstract Sculpture by Carmelo Cappello
Located in Brescia, IT
This is an artwork created by the well known Italian artist Carmelo Cappello. It is a multiple, an Abstract Sculpture one of the identical 99 specimen edited in 1978. This piece is ...
Category

1970s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Stainless Steel

"Abstract Arrangement "Cement, Resin, Plastic, Zip-ties scuplture
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Duane Paul's work can best be characterized as innovative, dynamic and intimate. His sculptures each employ colorful organic shapes, which act as a personal language. The playful and...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Resin, Plastic, Wood, Pigment

"Queen Florence, " Abstract Ceramic Vessel
Located in Westport, CT
This glazed porcelain vessel features a bright turquoise form which fades to a white crystalline drip, and cascades over a faded blue base. The wide neck and lip are charcoal grey. Jon Puzzuoli...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic, Porcelain

Unexpected Blooms No. 10
Located in Kansas City, MO
Katrina Revenaugh "Unexpected Blooms No. 10" Archival Pigment Ink, Acrylic, Spray Paint, Belgian Linen, Thrifted Chambray Year: 2023 Size: 23 x 17 Detail: Three-dimensional Belgian L...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Linen, Archival Ink, Spray Paint, Acrylic

Lauren Nauman « Black22 » one-off porcelaine sculpture, 2020
Located in Les Acacias GE, GE
Bio: Ceramicist Lauren Nauman graduated from the Royal College of Art with a Masters in Ceramics & Glass. The traditional technique of slip casting is c...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic, Porcelain

Nancy Baker, Fewer Answers 2, 2017, paper, acrylic, digital pigment print
Located in Darien, CT
In Baker’s work, there is solace in the geometry of fundamentals, and a practice that focuses on the ephemeral nature of paper and the ease of its transportability, which allows her to create large-scale constructions. A desire for definitive certainties and incontrovertible truths in an era of “alternative facts”, precipitate the need for Baker to assert her clarification of evidence. A new major installation has been created for her exhibition at ODETTA that layers baroque design elements found in paper cup carrying trays with anxiety-provoking phrases, rendered as gorgeous, yet fragile paper spheres...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Paper, Acrylic, Digital Pigment

Double Diddle Phlebotomy Movement #13
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Original hand-cut paper and ink on illustration board layered paper sculpture by Charles Clary measuring 15"h x 9"w. This piece ships in the pictured black frame. Charles Clary was...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Paper, Ink, Illustration Board

Orange Ceramic Urn with black handle - Handcrafted Ceramic Jar by Heidi Hartmann
Located in Winterswijk, NL
This elegant handcrafted ceramic urn with a smooth oval shape, delicate stands soft green and pink tones with fine decorative details, blending timeless design and natural inspiratio...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

"Vase «Fool 2: The Mask of Truth»"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
The painting "Fool 2" is the second chapter of a symbolic game where beneath the mask of the fool lies a deep internal struggle and a truth known only to the chosen few. In the chaot...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic, Acrylic

Abstract Head with Carved Pedestal
Located in Greenwich, CT
Joseph Goethe was one of America's finest early modernist carvers in wood. He experimented with exotic woods often collected in his native California and from other countries. This...
Category

1950s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Wood

Tantra 99: minimalist abstract mandala sculpture painting, red circle planet
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
Antonio Puri's "Tantra" sculptural painting is one of 100 intimately-scaled minimalist round mandala circles built from tiny seed beads adhered to canvas in a range of red hues, crea...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic

The Solar Eclipse
Located in Zofingen, AG
'The Solar Eclipse' Size 18 x 18 x 7 inches (46 x 46 х 17 cm). Materials: copper, solar battery light, pvc. You can hang it on the hook on the screws, or nails or hang it by a str...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Copper

Art in motion n°1
Located in Geneva, CH
Born in 1944 in the canton of Fribourg, Gilbert Pauli currently lives in Geneva, where he devotes himself to painting and sculpture, a passion he developed from his childhood. His fa...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Concrete, Steel

Abstract Cast Glass Sculpture, 'Lekhoo Beshalom', 1991 by David Ruth
Located in Oakland, CA
'Lekhoo Beshalom' is a contemporary abstract cast glass sculpture by David Ruth from his Internal Space series. David fused various colored glass to create a layered, suspended, and...
Category

1990s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Glass

Abstract Cast Glass Sculpture, 'Azair', 2008 by David Ruth
Located in Oakland, CA
'Azair' is a contemporary abstract glass by artist David Ruth. Created in 2008, it was a piece in a series about the David's views on the American invasion of Iraq. "In 2005, a few...
Category

Early 2000s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Steel

Joseph Wesner "Sculpture from the Pherein Series" Abstract Sculpture Signed
Located in Detroit, MI
“Sculpture from the Pherein Series” is a monumental piece named with the Greek word “pherein” meaning both to bear and to bring. It is made of welded steel and wood and is one of several similar, but different pieces belonging to a series created by Wesner and named The Pherein Series. Joseph Wesner...
Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Steel

Don Frost - Avender, Sculpture 2020
Located in Greenwich, CT
Fiberglass / Carbon Fibre Impregnated With Catalysed Polyester Resin Graphite Filled Acrylic Laquor On Filled Polyester Resin Base "Don Frost, sculptor, creator of completely unique...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Resin, Fiberglass, Polyester, Lacquer, Acrylic Polymer, Graphite

"The Bigger Picture", abstract sculpture, found frame, wood, paint, geometry
Located in Toronto, Ontario
"The Bigger Picture" is an abstract artwork by Stan Olthuis composed of acrylic paint on pine wood and reclaimed picture frame. The Bigger Picture measures...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Acrylic, Wood, Found Objects

Archy - #32 TM, Sculpture 2025
Located in Greenwich, CT
"My Pop Minimalist collection, “A Small World”, celebrates iconic characters from pop culture, film, music and television by presenting them in a pared-down, regressive form, highlig...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Wood, Acrylic

Large 1970's Israeli Abstract Sculpture "Birth" Iron, Wood Menashe Kadishman
Located in Surfside, FL
Menashe Kadishman (Israeli, 1932-2015) Birth Iron 17-1/2 inches (44.5 cm) high on a 6-1/4 inches (15.9 cm) high wood base Hand signed and Inscribed on base Sculpture with base measur...
Category

1990s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Iron

Ceramic Wall Hanging or Centerpiece with Engravings, Sticks, and Thread
Located in Soquel, CA
Ceramic Wall Hanging or Centerpiece with Engravings, Sticks, and Thread Balanced abstract sculptural piece by an unknown artist (20th Century). This sculpture is composed of various...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic, Thread, Wood

Welded Brushed Steel Sculpture - geometric abstraction (Unique, signed)
By Michael Todd
Located in New York, NY
Michael Todd Welded Brushed Steel Sculpture - geometric abstraction, 1968 Welded Brushed Steel Hand signed and dated 1968 in marker on surface....
Category

1960s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Steel

Contemporary Cast Glass Sculpture, 'Cloud Study #1', 2017 by David Ruth
Located in Oakland, CA
Cloud Study #1 is a contemporary abstract glass sculpture by David Ruth from his Cloud Study Series. It contains hues of white and blue in painterly brushstroke formations in glass c...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Stainless Steel

Double Diddle Phlebotomy Movement #16
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...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Paper, Ink, Illustration Board

Contemporary Cast Glass Sculpture, 'Cloud Study: House', 2013 by David Ruth
Located in Oakland, CA
Cloud Study: House is a contemporary abstract glass sculpture by David Ruth from his Cloud Study Series. It contains hues of white and blue painterly brushstroke formations in glass ...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Stainless Steel

Abstract Cast Glass Sculpture, 'Pura Gede', 2008 by David Ruth
Located in Oakland, CA
'Pura Gede' is a contemporary abstract cast glass sculpture by David Ruth from his Internal Space & Standing Stones series. It features painterly brush...
Category

Early 2000s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Stainless Steel

Handcrafted Oval Ceramic Urn - pink and green by Heidi Hartmann
Located in Winterswijk, NL
This elegant handcrafted ceramic urn with a smooth oval shape, delicate stands soft green and pink tones with fine decorative details, blending timeless design and natural inspiratio...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

Algas 75, 83 Y 26. Cyanotype photograhs mounted in high resistance glass dish
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Water is constant in the artist's visual investigation, for her water is no longer the stage in which the body's memory bursts, but rather the environment and protagonist, constant o...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Glass, Archival Pigment

The Glossy Red Acrylic Fighter, Contemporary Sculpture, Pop Art, 21st Century
Located in Mexico City, MX
The Glossy Red Acrylic Fighter Acrylic Contemporary Sculpture, Pop Art 21x12x8cm Limited Edition About the Collection Marco Colin´s Monsters Collection r...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Acrylic Polymer

Picador, A.R. 200
Located in Palo Alto, CA
Created in 1953, ceramic Picador A.R. 200 is a round plate of white earthenware clay with oxidized paraffin decoration (brown, green, white) in a stanniferous enamel bath...
Category

1950s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Enamel

Picador, A.R. 200
Picador, A.R. 200
$9,600 Sale Price
20% Off
Tantra 88: abstract spiritual mandala circle sculpture painting with red beads
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
Antonio Puri's "Tantra" sculptural painting is one of 100 intimately-scaled minimalist round mandala circles built from tiny seed beads adhered to canvas in a range of red hues, crea...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic

Contemporary Cast Glass Sculpture, 'Cloud Study #2', 2017 by David Ruth
Located in Oakland, CA
Cloud Study #2 is a contemporary abstract glass sculpture by David Ruth from his Cloud Study Series. It contains hues of white and black painterly brush...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Stainless Steel

Skate
Located in Phoenix, AZ
Excerpts from William Peterson, Tom Waldron, 1985 They cut through space like beautiful and efficient tools. No bases or pedestals are required. They sit ...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Steel

"Bouquet, " Mixed Media Sculpture
Located in Chicago, IL
Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his travels. In his ongoing series of memory jugs, Thompson adorns stoneware vessels with a kaleidoscope of ceramic shards, found objects, and pocket-sized trinkets he collected over the course of his life. Also known as forget-me-not jugs or spirit jars, memory jugs are African American folk art objects that honor a loved one who has recently passed. Small tokens and mementos of the deceased are gathered and affixed to the exterior of a jug or vase, an abundance of memories that celebrates a life lived to the fullest. Michael Thompson applies this tradition to his own practice, creating tactile assemblages of this and that. Formed in the manner of collage, each jug honors the lost memories of generations past and his own memories of personally discovering each item. With varied sources for materials including Kyoto, Turkey, and Mexico, a great number of the found shards are 18th and 19th century ceramics...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Stone

1972 Italy Bronze Abstract Sculpture Nickeled Finish by Carmelo Cappello
Located in Brescia, IT
This is an artwork created by the well known Italian artist Carmelo Cappello. This Carmelo Cappello Abstract Sculpture is a very interesting example of the approach of the artist to...
Category

1970s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

E-Flat (bell bronze serie), Brethouwer, Sculpture, Design, Gold
Located in Geneva, CH
HARMEN BRETHOUWER (1960-) E-Flat (bell bronze serie), 2016 Ed. 4/5 pcs Bronze, steel and bronze hammer H. 50 cm Mongram and edition number engraved at the base : HB 4/5 Harmen Bret...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Bronze, Steel

Window 7
Located in Milwaukee, WI
Window 7 is from a series of 7 painted aluminum wall sculptures. These wall sculptures are abstractions on the windows we use in our daily lives. We look into windows as well as out ...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Metal

Italian Mid Century Mod Large Brutalist Welded Copper Enamel Sculpture Wood Base
Located in Surfside, FL
Welded, brazed, copper (based on the weight, this might be iron or bronze) with colorful inset enamel plaques on a painted wood base. A studio handmade Brutalist sculpture in a mann...
Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Metal, Copper, Enamel

'Femme Assise'. Large Mixed-media Montage on Board.
Located in Cotignac, FR
Imposing and very large scale mixed media 'assemblage' by French artist Armand Avril. The work includes the French tricolour flag colours, his symbolic cat sculptures and a highly colourful geometric image of the artist's mother sitting in a chair. The work is signed and dated to the reverse and comes with a certificate of authenticity from the gallery. This montage fully demonstrates Avril's geometric period whilst also expressing the humour and joy that he puts into all his work. A very strong sculptural image and a feast for the eyes in searching for and recognising the everyday objects used in making this piece come alive. This montage is made from wood pieces, plywood, oil paint, acrylic, bottle top and nails . The more sculpted areas of the piece stand out up to 3cm from the frame. Armand Avril was born in 1926 in Lyon. His father, Marcel Avril was a painter and collector of African art. At 16 Armand became an apprentice shepherd in Provence. Avril could always be seen equipped with a sketchbook and a book on the history of art whilst tending his flock. It was not until the age of 30, in 1956, that Armand embarked on painting as an autodidact, influenced by Raoul Dufy, Pierre Bonnard, Henri Matisse and the Lyonnaise School of Painting. He exhibited for the first time in 1957. In 1960, he left for a one-year trip to Africa. There he met the painter Jean Arène who introduced him to the village of Cotignac in the Var and to Louis Pons...
Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Wood, Plywood, Acrylic, Board

Milky Way 4 - contemporary, geometric abstract, aluminum sculpture
Located in Bloomfield, ON
This enigmatic and intriguing sculpture is by Jean-Pierre Morin. The Quebec artist is known for his compelling contemporary work inspired by natural form...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Metal

Organza Fold
Located in Westport, CT
This purple/lavender piece is by Korean artist, Jaena Kwon. Her dimensional relief work is concerned with painting components and how painting space is constructed. She treats painti...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Acrylic, Fiberboard

Italy 1980 Bruno Chersicla Volavola Black Painted Metal Sculpture Butterfly
Located in Brescia, IT
This sculpture is a multiple 1 piece of 50 realized in 1980 by the well known artist Bruno Chersicla. All the pieces are numbered and signed by the artist and completed by the Certif...
Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Metal

Maquette for Laureate (unique sculpture)
Located in New York, NY
Seymour Lipton Maquette for Laureate, ca. 1968-1969 Nickel silver on monel metal Unique 18 × 8 1/2 × 7 inches Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, New York Acquired from the above by the previous owner, 1969 thence by descent Christie's New York: Monday, June 30, 2008 [Lot 00199] Acquired from the above Christie's sale This unique sculpture by important Abstract Expressionist sculptor Seymour Lipton is a maquette of the monumental sculpture "Laureate" - one of Lipton's most iconic and influential works located on the Riverwalk in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Laureate is a masterpiece that was commissioned by the Allen-Bradley Company in memory of Harry Lynde Bradley and as an enhancement for the newly constructed Performing Arts Center. It is located on the east bank of the Milwaukee River at 929 North Water Street. The Bradley family in Milwaukee were renowned patrons of modernist sculpture, known for their excellent taste who also founded an eponymous sculpture park. For reference only is an image of the monumental "Laureate" one of Milwaukee's most beloved public sculptures. According to the Smithsonian, which owns a different unique variation of this work, "The full-size sculpture Laureate was commissioned by the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts in Milwaukee. In the initial drawings, Seymour Lipton combined details from the architectural plan with a wide variety of images, ranging from musical instruments to a lighthouse on the island of Tobago. He transformed the basic shapes from these sketches into a welded sculpture, which evokes a figure composed of columns, harp strings, and coiled rope. Lipton created this piece to celebrate achievement in the arts. The dramatic silhouette commands your attention, reflecting the title Laureate, which means worthy of honor and distinction. The final version of the piece is over twelve feet high and stands out against the pale, flat buildings of the arts center.,," Provenance Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, New York Acquired from the above by the previous owner, 1969 thence by descent Christie's New York: Monday, June 30, 2008 [Lot 00199] Acquired from the above Christie's sale About Seymour Lipton: Born in New York City in 1903, Seymour Lipton (1903-1986) grew up in a Bronx tenement at a time when much of the borough was still farmland. These rural surroundings enabled Lipton to explore the botanical and animal forms that would later become sources for his work. Lipton’s interest in the dialogue between artistic creation and natural phenomena was nurtured by a supportive family and cultivated through numerous visits to New York’s Museum of Natural History as well as its many botanical gardens and its zoos. In the early 1920s, with the encouragement of his family, Lipton studied electrical engineering at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute and pursued a liberal arts education at City College. Ultimately, like fellow sculptor Herbert Ferber, Lipton became a dentist, receiving his degree from Columbia University in 1927. In the late 1920s, he began to explore sculpture, creating clay portraits of family members and friends. In addition to providing him with financial security, dentistry gave Lipton a foundation in working with metal, a material he would later use in his artwork. In the early 1930s, though, Lipton’s primary sculptural medium was wood. Lipton led a comfortable life, but he was also aware of the economic and psychological devastation the Depression had caused New York. In response, he generally worked using direct carving techniques—a form of sculpting where the artist “finds” the sculpture within the wood in the process of carving it and without the use of models and maquettes. The immediacy of this practice enabled Lipton to create a rich, emotional and visual language with which to articulate the desperation of the downtrodden and the unwavering strength of the disenfranchised. In 1935, he exhibited one such early sculpture at the John Reed Club Gallery in New York, and three years later, ACA Gallery mounted Lipton’s first solo show, which featured these social-realist-inspired wooden works. In 1940, this largely self-taught artist began teaching sculpture at the New School for Social Research, a position he held until 1965. In the 1940s, Lipton began to devote an increasing amount of time to his art, deviating from wood and working with brass, lead, and bronze. Choosing these metals for their visual simplicity, which he believed exemplified the universal heroism of the “everyman,” Lipton could also now explore various forms of abstraction. Lipton’s turn towards increasing abstraction in the 1940s allowed him to fully develop his metaphorical style, which in turn gave him a stronger lexicon for representing the horrors of World War II and questioning the ambiguities of human experience. He began his metal work with cast bronze sculptures, but, in 1946, he started welding sheet metal and lead. Lipton preferred welding because, as direct carving did with wood, this approach allowed “a more direct contact with the metal.”[ii] From this, Lipton developed the technique he would use for the remainder of his career: “He cut sheet metal, manipulated it to the desired shapes, then joined, soldered, or welded the pieces together. Next, he brazed a metal coating to the outside to produce a uniform texture.”[iii] In 1950, Lipton arrived at his mature style of brazing on Monel metal. He also began to draw extensively, exploring the automatism that abstract expressionist painters were boasting at the time. Like contemporaries such as Jackson Pollock, Lipton was strongly influenced by Carl Jung’s work on the unconscious mind and the regenerative forces of nature. He translated these two-dimensional drawings into three-dimensional maquettes that enabled him to revise his ideas before creating the final sculpture.The forms that Lipton produced during this period were often zoomorphic, exemplifying the tension between the souls of nature and the automatism of the machine. In the years following the 1950s, Lipton’s optimism began to rise, and the size of his work grew in proportion. The oxyacetylene torch—invented during the Second World War—allowed him to rework the surfaces of metal sculptures, thus eliminating some of the risks involved with producing large-scale finished works. In 1958, Lipton was awarded a solo exhibition at the Venice Biennale and was thus internationally recognized as part of a small group of highly regarded avant-garde constructivist sculptors. In 1960, he received a prestigious Guggenheim Award, which was followed by several prominent public commissions, including his heroic Archangel, currently residing in Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall. A number of important solo exhibitions of his work followed at The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC (1964); the Milwaukee Art Center and University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee (1969); the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond (1972); the Everson Museum in Syracuse, NY (1973); the Herbert E. Johnson Museum of Art of Cornell University in Ithaca, NY (1973); the National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution (now the Smithsonian American Art Museum) in Washington, DC (1978); and a retrospective in 1979 at The Jewish Museum in New York. In 1982 and 1984 alone, two exhibitions of his sculpture, organized respectively by the Mint Museum (Charlotte, NC) and the Hillwood Art Gallery of Long Island University (Greenvale, NY), traveled extensively across museums and university galleries around the nation. In 2000, the traveling exhibition An American Sculptor: Seymour Lipton was first presented by the Palmer Museum of Art of Pennsylvania State University in University Park. Most recently, in 2009, the Ackland Art Museum in Chapel Hill, NC mounted The Guardian and the Avant-Garde: Seymour Lipton’s Sentinel II in Context. Since 2004, Michael Rosenfeld Gallery has been the exclusive representative of the Estate of Seymour Lipton and has presented two solo exhibitions of his work—Seymour Lipton: Abstract Expressionist Sculptor (2005) and Seymour Lipton: Metal (2008). In 2013, Michael Rosenfeld Gallery presented Abstract Expressionism, In Context: Seymour Lipton, which included twelve major sculptures by the artist, along with works by Charles Alston, Norman Bluhm, Beauford Delaney, Willem de Kooning, Jay DeFeo, Michael Goldberg, Adolph Gottlieb, Hans Hofmann, Lee Krasner, Norman Lewis, Conrad Marca-Relli, Boris Margo, Alfonso Ossorio, Richard Pousette-Dart, Milton Resnick, Charles Seliger...
Category

1960s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Metal, Silver

"Portal", Hand Cut, Laser Cut Paper Wall Relief Sculpture
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 ...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Paper

Handcrafted Urn - Spiral Ceramic Urn by Heidi Hartmann
Located in Winterswijk, NL
This elegant handcrafted ceramic urn with a smooth oval shape, delicate stands soft green and pink tones with fine decorative details, blending timeless design and natural inspiratio...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Gold Leaf

Richard Bottwin, Mike's Arm, 2018, poplar, plywood, acrylic paint
Located in Darien, CT
Architecture, functional objects and the human gestures that occur when interacting with these structures inform the vocabulary of Richard Bottwin’s sculpture. The plywood surfaces,...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Poplar, Plywood, Acrylic

Abstract Cast Glass Sculpture, 'Ras Algethi', 1995 by David Ruth
Located in Oakland, CA
'Ras Algethi' is a contemporary abstract cast glass sculpture by David Ruth from his Internal Space series. This part of the series was inspired by astronomy and the distant galaxies and stars. David fused various colored glass creates a layered, suspended, and vibrant three-dimensional space within an spiral form. About the Internal Space Series: David’s experiments with sheet glass and fusing led him to try to make the glass thicker to see more interior space. It was during this time a professor pointed out that he was working with a metaphor, for which the internal space of the glass was the equivalent to the internal life of the mind. This became his operating mantra but also forced him to come to terms with the casting of thick sections. “Creating those internal spaces came with some problems. Other than telescope mirrors, I did not know that anyone annealed glass in a kiln for more than a day or two. When pieces cracked after five...
Category

1990s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Glass

Don Frost - Idyll, Sculpture 2022
Located in Greenwich, CT
Fiberglass / Carbon Fibre Impregnated With Catalysed Polyester Resin Graphite Filled Acrylic Laquor On Filled Polyester Resin Base "Don Frost, sculptor, creator of completely unique...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Resin, Fiberglass, Polyester, Lacquer, Acrylic Polymer, Graphite

Contemporary Cast Glass Sculpture, 'Cloud Study: Fence', 2013 by David Ruth
Located in Oakland, CA
Cloud Study: House is a contemporary abstract glass sculpture by David Ruth from his Cloud Study Series. It contains hues of white and blue painterly brushstroke formations in glass ...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Stainless Steel

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.

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