Abstract Art
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.
1970s Abstract Art
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Paper, Acrylic
1970s Abstract Art
Lithograph
2010s Abstract Art
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
A vibrant multi-layered abstract in black, red, and yellow by artist Linda Shaffer. The piece is embedded with hand-printed paper, washi paper, and original ima...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
"Red and blue shapes which are overlapped in the piece imply emotional dependency," explains artist Shyun Song. "The yellow background signifies the emotional f...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Oil, Wood Panel
Artist Comments
"Emotional freedom is portrayed by the parallel placement of the red and blue shapes together with the space between them," states artist Shyun Song. "The yello...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Resin, Mixed Media, Panel
Early 2000s Abstract Art
Etching
1960s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Metal
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Cotton, Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment, Digital...
1970s Abstract Art
Screen
2010s Abstract Art
Plexiglass, C Print
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic, Panel
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Inkjet
Early 2000s Abstract Art
Giclée
2010s Abstract Art
Giclée
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Early 2000s Abstract Art
Gouache, Vellum
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
Late 20th Century Abstract Art
Monotype
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Photographic Paper
Early 2000s Abstract Art
Gouache, Vellum
Early 2000s Abstract Art
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic
1980s Abstract Art
Tempera, Cardboard
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Digital
1980s Abstract Art
Lithograph
2010s Abstract Art
Paper, Watercolor
Early 2000s Abstract Art
Gouache, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Digital
2010s Abstract Art
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil, Graphite
1980s Abstract Art
Watercolor, Tempera, Cardboard
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic
Artist Comments
"The arrangement of three primary colors in the left panel of this diptych emanates intense light," states the artist Shyun Song. "Its whole atmosphere exudes...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
1970s Abstract Art
Archival Paper, Inkjet, Archival Pigment
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Resin, Panel, Digital Pigment
Early 2000s Abstract Art
Gouache, Vellum
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Glass
2010s Abstract Art
Resin, Panel, Digital Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
1970s Abstract Art
Screen