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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
"Love of Horses" Bronze and Marble Sculpture 16" x 7" in by Ibrahim Abd Elmalak
"Love of Horses" Bronze and Marble Sculpture 16" x 7" in by Ibrahim Abd Elmalak

"Love of Horses" Bronze and Marble Sculpture 16" x 7" in by Ibrahim Abd Elmalak

By Ibrahim Abd Elmalak

Located in Culver City, CA

"Love of Horses" Bronze and Marble Sculpture 16" x 7" in by Ibrahim Abd Elmalak Love of Horses, 2000 Bronze & Marble (Double Face) 40 x 18 cm, Signed & Dated Sculptures that mostl...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Tucking Under, Original Abstract Sculpture, 2020
Tucking Under, Original Abstract Sculpture, 2020

Tucking Under, Original Abstract Sculpture, 2020

By Donna Hapac

Located in Boston, MA

Artist Commentary: Some of my reed sculptures include found objects. In "Tucking Under," I found part of a damaged hat form at a flea market. I salvaged what I could and used to cr...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Linen, Organic Material, Wood, Wax

Cassiopeia

Cassiopeia

By Eric Johnson

Located in Santa Monica, CA

The Madame X works exemplify Eric Johnson’s passionate embrace of the sensuality of form. The sculptures are imbued with abstract bursts of color beneath pristine surfaces, which appear to undulate as one moves around their double-helix curves. Seen together, the series is a celebration of the exquisite harmony of depth, structure, color, and lovingly polished surfaces, somewhat blurring the line between painting and sculpture. Interestingly, the Madame X series was inspired by a painting by John Singer Sargent, and pays homage to Sargent’s portrait of the same title, which scandalized the Paris Salon of 1884. While Parisians were shocked by the slip of a dress strap and the alabaster complexion of the portrait’s subject, Johnson was inspired by the sinewy, vertical curves of Sargent’s composition. At the nexus of the L.A. art scene for nearly forty years, Eric Johnson’s work bears a distinctly Southern California hot-rod, materials-based aesthetic. Early on, Johnson was drawn to artists whose work also grew out of L.A.’s surf and car culture sensibilities. Utilizing new materials and industrial products, like resin & plastic, artwork of impossibly slick, sleek character began to emerge and was termed “Finish Fetish”. Johnson’s work is next generation heir to this work, and carries forward the DNA of such legendary Light and Space, Finish Fetish, artists as Craig Kaufman, DeWain Valentine, Billy Al Bengston, Larry Bell, Tom Jenkins and Tony DeLap. Eric Johnson’s works are also acutely personal representations of his life. A severe neck injury, and struggle with intense spinal pain, served as the initial catalyst for his exploration of structural forms, which are also informed by his ancestral heritage - Scottish, Cree Indian, and perhaps a boat-building urge from the Norse. His father, a race-car driver and expert in custom car fabrication, passed on a passion for cars and their restoration. Scouted into the Air Force during the Vietnam war as a fencing instructor (though he never served), Johnson discovered he was color-blind during an eye-exam. Surprisingly, this ignited an interest in color and experiments with layering automotive pigments and clear resins, which Johnson continues with in this series, fabricating molds, which allow him to do multiple iterations of the same shape while investigating variations of color. Eric Johnson attended Valley College; California Institute of Art and received his Masters of Fine Arts degree from University of California at Irvine. Johnson’s work is in many public and private collections, including: Oakland Museum; Laguna Beach Museum; Museum of Art and History (MOAH); Lancaster, CA; C.B.S. Broadcasting, New York, NY; Digital Domain, Venice, CA; Mary Barnes...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Resin, Wood

Big Yellow Poppies, 2015
Big Yellow Poppies, 2015

Big Yellow Poppies, 2015

By Donald Sultan

Located in Fairfield, CT

Donald Sultan (born 1951), is one of the leading American contemporary still life artists. He currently lives and works in New York. Sultan has been given numerous exhibitions dedica...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Steel

Vacuum Horizontal Light-Glyph (Silver)
Vacuum Horizontal Light-Glyph (Silver)

Vacuum Horizontal Light-Glyph (Silver)

By Casper Brindle

Located in Santa Monica, CA

With Light Glyphs, Casper Brindle presents two new bodies of work, each involving dramatic investigations into light, color and perspective. The results are poetic, sensual and spat...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Acrylic Polymer, Pigment

"Tell It" Brass Sculpture
"Tell It" Brass Sculpture

"Tell It" Brass Sculpture

By Elie Hirsch 1

Located in Paris, FR

One of a Kind, Brass Sculpture, (Weight 3kg). About the Artist: Graduate in ceramic design and metal sculpture (2001, 2003), he worked during two years with the sculptor Hervé Wahlen...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Brass

You put the magic in me

You put the magic in me

By Dionisios Fragias

Located in New York, NY

Dionisios Fragias is a New York -based artist born on the Greek island of Kefalonia and raised in New York City. He is the protege of the artist Jeff Koons whose years-long mentorshi...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Steel, Stainless Steel

Light-Glyph (Purple)
Light-Glyph (Purple)

Light-Glyph (Purple)

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

Marat/Apollo
Marat/Apollo

Marat/Apollo

By Christine Perri

Located in Boston, MA

Artist Commentary: This sculpture was inspired by David's late eighteenth-century painting, The Death of Marat. It is carved from various woods and cont...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Wood

L'Amphore
L'Amphore

L'Amphore

By Francois Bauer

Located in Miami Beach, FL

Francois Bauer studied graphic design in Chaumont, then went to HEAR, where he deepened his curriculum in object design. He then studied at the European Institute of Ceramic Arts in ...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Enamel

Abstract Relief: flat sculpture for wall or shelf, painted
Abstract Relief: flat sculpture for wall or shelf, painted

Abstract Relief: flat sculpture for wall or shelf, painted

By Ava Blitz

Located in Bryn Mawr, PA

This is an abstract painted plaster cast relief sculpture designed to be mounted directly to the wall or installed on a shelf. 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, Acrylic

99-709 Abstract Steel Sculpture, Brutalist Style, Circa 1990-1999
99-709 Abstract Steel Sculpture, Brutalist Style, Circa 1990-1999

99-709 Abstract Steel Sculpture, Brutalist Style, Circa 1990-1999

By Ben McLeod

Located in Vancouver, CA

Ben McLeod (b. 1948, Aberdeen, Scotland) is a preeminent Canadian sculptor whose over five-decade practice is characterized by a profoundly self-propelled trajectory and the cultivat...

Category

1990s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Steel

Light-Glyph (Rose Gold)
Light-Glyph (Rose Gold)

Light-Glyph (Rose Gold)

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

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

Light-Glyph (Royal 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

Abstract  Ceramic Vessel Sculpture: 'Creature Medium No 13'
Abstract  Ceramic Vessel Sculpture: 'Creature Medium No 13'

Abstract Ceramic Vessel Sculpture: 'Creature Medium No 13'

By Ak Jansen

Located in New York, NY

Ak Jansen was born in Dongen, The Netherlands, in 1988. He studied at the Design Academy Eindhoven focusing on textile design, material culture, and techniques of fabrication. He wor...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Clay, Glaze

John Van Alstine - Sagitta III, Sculpture 2002
John Van Alstine - Sagitta III, Sculpture 2002

John Van Alstine - Sagitta III, Sculpture 2002

By John Van Alstine

Located in Greenwich, CT

Stone and metal,usually granite or slate and found object steel are central in my sculpture. The interaction of these materials is a major focus. On the most basic level the work is ...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Granite, Stainless Steel

John Van Alstine - Lunge XI, Sculpture 2014
John Van Alstine - Lunge XI, Sculpture 2014

John Van Alstine - Lunge XI, Sculpture 2014

By John Van Alstine

Located in Greenwich, CT

Stone and metal,usually granite or slate and found object steel are central in my sculpture. The interaction of these materials is a major focus. On the most basic level the work is ...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Slate, Stainless Steel

John Van Alstine - ACCIACCATO III, Sculpture 2015
John Van Alstine - ACCIACCATO III, Sculpture 2015

John Van Alstine - ACCIACCATO III, Sculpture 2015

By John Van Alstine

Located in Greenwich, CT

slate/pigmented and sealed steel Stone and metal, usually granite or slate and found object steel are central in my sculpture. The interaction of these materials is a major focus. O...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Slate, Steel, Cut Steel, Stainless Steel

John Van Alstine - ARCOS, Sculpture 2002
John Van Alstine - ARCOS, Sculpture 2002

John Van Alstine - ARCOS, Sculpture 2002

By John Van Alstine

Located in Greenwich, CT

Rose Granite / Steel Stone and metal, usually granite or slate and found object steel are central in my sculpture. The interaction of these materials is a major focus. On the most b...

Category

Early 2000s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Stone, Granite, Steel, Cut Steel

Switchback, Original Abstract Sculpture, 2020
Switchback, Original Abstract Sculpture, 2020

Switchback, Original Abstract Sculpture, 2020

By Donna Hapac

Located in Boston, MA

Artist Commentary: The challenge in making this piece was building two woven forms, one inside of each other. It required all of my dexterity. The title, "Switchback," as in a swit...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Linen, Organic Material, Wood, Wax

"Beauty Belt" Brass Sculpture
"Beauty Belt" Brass Sculpture

"Beauty Belt" Brass Sculpture

By Elie Hirsch 1

Located in Paris, FR

Sculpture "Beauty Belt", Pièce unique, one of a kind, created in patinated brass (weight 3Kg) About the artist. Graduate in ceramic design and metal sculpture (2001,2003), he worked ...

Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Brass

Sculpture A16 Projection and vibration - Medaglini
Sculpture A16 Projection and vibration - Medaglini

Sculpture A16 Projection and vibration - Medaglini

Located in Saint-Didier, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Sculpture A16 Projection and vibration - Medaglini (1939-2011) Drawn iron and cast iron base H90xW62xD17 Signed on the base Circa 1975 490€

Category

1970s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Steel

fan 19 - Original Abstract Wood Sculpture

fan 19 - Original Abstract Wood Sculpture

By Marc Lamm

Located in Boston, MA

fan 19 48.0 x 35.0 x 3.0, 17.0 lbs Wood Founder's stamp Artist's Commentary: "Wood wall sculpture. 48 inches wide. I work with wood like a painter works with oils and a sculptor with stone. From a distance, lines, shapes, contours and shadows are easily seen but when you move from side to side, the change in perspective alters the image like the features of a face when it turns. If a light source moves, shadows in the piece move with it like the sun moving across a landscape. As you approach the piece, shallow contours appear like swells on a lake and intricate patterns emerge. You can't help but touch the smooth flowing surface to feel the highly finished solid wood. The furniture grade modified tung oil allows that. It also makes my art easy to clean if necessary. The lines and shapes in my art are the natural colors of solid wood joined along curves. No inlays, veneers, dyes or stains are used." About the Artist: Marc Lamm is a self-taught wood-artist who has been art since 1973. In 1996, he began developing techniques which he uses in his art. In 2011, he began making wood-wall-sculptures and has pieces in Mayo...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Wood

composition 19 - Original Abstract Wood Sculpture

composition 19 - Original Abstract Wood Sculpture

By Marc Lamm

Located in Boston, MA

composition 19 21.0 x 72.0 x 3.0, 20.0 lbs Wood Founder's stamp Artist's Commentary: "Wood wall sculpture. This piece is based on a style I made for the Health Partners' Behavioral Science Building in St. Paul, MN. I work with wood like a painter works with oils and a sculptor with stone. From a distance, lines, shapes, contours and shadows are easily seen but when you move from side to side, the change in perspective alters the image like the features of a face when it turns. If a light source moves, shadows in the piece move with it like the sun moving across a landscape. As you approach the piece, shallow contours appear like swells on a lake and intricate patterns emerge. You can't help but touch the smooth flowing surface to feel the highly finished solid wood. The furniture grade modified tung oil allows that. It also makes my art easy to clean if necessary. The lines and shapes in my art are the natural colors of solid wood joined along curves. No inlays, veneers, dyes or stains are used." About the Artist: Marc Lamm is a self-taught wood-artist who has been art since 1973. In 1996, he began developing techniques which he uses in his art. In 2011, he began making wood-wall-sculptures and has pieces in Mayo...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Wood

Untitled (Shift)

Thomas LendvaiUntitled (Shift), 2018

$1,512Sale Price|30% Off

Untitled (Shift)

By Thomas Lendvai

Located in Boston, MA

Artist Commentary: This sculpture has always been dear to me. The original was made while I was still in college. This one was reproduced for an exhibition last year. I still hope...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

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.