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Abstract Art

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
Metal squares. 3D textured.
Metal squares. 3D textured.

Metal squares. 3D textured.

By Svetlana Saratova

Located in Zofingen, AG

The painting is made up of individual squares on canvas, creating a unique and intriguing geometric composition. Each square, crafted using clay, represents an individual element, im...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Clay, Canvas, Acrylic

Infinite Moments, Contemporary Geometric Abstract Painting
Infinite Moments, Contemporary Geometric Abstract Painting

Infinite Moments, Contemporary Geometric Abstract Painting

Located in Philadelphia, PA

This abstract monochrome painting explores the interplay of black and white through bold, gestural brushstrokes and layered textures. Organic shapes, sweeping arcs, and scattered cir...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Acrylic, Wood Panel

Youth
Youth

Youth

By Katarina Joys

Located in London, London

Unicorn mystery passion spring Swift brushstrokes evoke a sense of power and speed full size of the canvas 156x229cm (size 150x223cm) acrylic, oil on canvas one-of-a-kind The...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

"Budding Flowering Ripening" - Vintage Glass Sculpture
"Budding Flowering Ripening" - Vintage Glass Sculpture

"Budding Flowering Ripening" - Vintage Glass Sculpture

Located in Westport, CT

Resurrect Studio, “Budding Flowering Ripening,” Vintage Glass Sculpture, 14 x 14 x 12 in. “Budding Flowering Ripening” is a radiant vintage glass sculpture by Resurrect Studio, the ...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Glass, Resin

The Guardians and the Carnival: Large Abstract Painting, Colorful, Joy, Modern
The Guardians and the Carnival: Large Abstract Painting, Colorful, Joy, Modern

The Guardians and the Carnival: Large Abstract Painting, Colorful, Joy, Modern

By Karnish Art

Located in Pretoria, Gauteng

Title: The Guardians and the Carnival Abstract Painting Modern Bold Invest Colorful Large Contemporary Joy Love the detail in this artwork by Karnish. This work is part of a serie...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Gesso, Canvas, Wood, Spray Paint, Acrylic, Color Pencil, Stretcher Bars

Forest Moons, Contemporary Abstract Painting
Forest Moons, Contemporary Abstract Painting

Forest Moons, Contemporary Abstract Painting

Located in Philadelphia, PA

Forest Moons is an abstract painting in layered greens, with a mix of soft circular shapes and more solid, angular forms. The composition suggests a natural setting, with lighter spo...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Acrylic, Wood Panel

Pink Summer
Pink Summer

Pink Summer

Located in Zofingen, AG

Size: 97×115 cm (Total canvas size including stretching margins: 107×125 cm) Year: 2026 Materials: acrylic on canvas Shipping: rolled This painting immerses the viewer into the lang...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Modern abstract expressionist floral painting on linen canvas "Flower Light"
Modern abstract expressionist floral painting on linen canvas "Flower Light"

Modern abstract expressionist floral painting on linen canvas "Flower Light"

By Mougenot Natalya

Located in VÉNISSIEUX, FR

“Flower Light” is a contemporary floral still life by French artist Natalya Mougenot, where vibrant color and instinctive gesture transform a simple bouquet into a celebration of lig...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Linen, Acrylic

Sea Foam 11, Abstract Painting
Sea Foam 11, Abstract Painting

Sea Foam 11, Abstract Painting

By DL Watson

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
An abstract seascape painting evokes the motion of ocean waves through layered blues and turquoises. Organic patterns suggest shifting currents and foam. Subtle...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Acrylic

Sculpted white folds. 3D texture
Sculpted white folds. 3D texture

Sculpted white folds. 3D texture

By Svetlana Saratova

Located in Zofingen, AG

The artwork is crafted on a wooden circular canvas, enhancing its organic and natural appeal. The folds, created from durable mesh and coated with plaster, add depth and texture to t...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Mixed Media

Park XV & XVI - SET (Berlin artist, Postwar, Contemporary, ~54% OFF - MUST GO)
Park XV & XVI - SET (Berlin artist, Postwar, Contemporary, ~54% OFF - MUST GO)

Park XV & XVI - SET (Berlin artist, Postwar, Contemporary, ~54% OFF - MUST GO)

By Barbara Keidel

Located in Kansas City, MO

Barbara Keidel Park XV & XVI - SET Mixed media, pastel on handmade, toned laid paper 1997 Size: 29.5 × 21.25 inches (75 × 54 cm) (each) Signed and dated in pencil (each) Addition...

Category

1990s Abstract Art

Materials

Pastel, Mixed Media, Laid Paper

Where it is quiet, No.1
Where it is quiet, No.1

Where it is quiet, No.1

By Aliona Koroliova

Located in Zofingen, AG

This work emerged from an inner need to pause and enter a space where tension no longer exists. In a world where silence has become rare and fragile, painting becomes a way to briefl...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media

Robot Circleish - Large Scale Abstract Expressive Mixed Media Painting on Canvas
Robot Circleish - Large Scale Abstract Expressive Mixed Media Painting on Canvas

Robot Circleish - Large Scale Abstract Expressive Mixed Media Painting on Canvas

By Bruce Rubenstein

Located in Los Angeles, CA

The paintings of Bruce Rubenstein seamlessly marry sophistication with affordability. His expressive abstract landscape artwork 'Robot Circleish' features whimsical details and vibra...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic

Golden Country: Abstract Impressionist Landscape
Golden Country: Abstract Impressionist Landscape

Golden Country: Abstract Impressionist Landscape

Located in Atlanta, GA

Georgia based artist Niyati Jiwani creates works that aim to fuse abstraction and themes of nature utilizing color, gesture, and light. Born in India, Niyati grew up with a flair an...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

Pumpkin, Red/White, Yayoi Kusama 草間 彌生
Pumpkin, Red/White, Yayoi Kusama 草間 彌生

Pumpkin, Red/White, Yayoi Kusama 草間 彌生

By Yayoi Kusama

Located in Fairfield, CT

Artist: Yayoi Kusama (1929) Title: Pumpkin, Red/White Year: 2016 Medium: Painted cast resin sculpture Sculpture Size: 4 × 3.5 x 3.5 inches Inscription: ©Yayoi Kusama, as issued Notes...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Epoxy Resin

original lithograph

original lithograph

By Joan Miró

Located in Henderson, NV

Medium: original lithograph. Printed in 1961 in an edition of 1200 for the wrap-around dust-jacket cover of the "Miró 1959-1960" catalogue, published by the Pierre Matisse Gallery. S...

Category

1960s Abstract Art

Materials

Lithograph

'Woman In Bagdad' — 1950s Japanese Sôsaku-hanga Signed Woodblock Print
'Woman In Bagdad' — 1950s Japanese Sôsaku-hanga Signed Woodblock Print

'Woman In Bagdad' — 1950s Japanese Sôsaku-hanga Signed Woodblock Print

Located in Myrtle Beach, SC

Toshi Yoshida, 'Woman In Bagdad', color woodblock print, 1954, edition not stated. Signed, dated, and titled, in pencil. A fine, richly-inked impression, with fresh colors, on cream-wove Japan paper; the full sheet with margins (1/2 to 7/8 inch); minor toning in the margins, otherwise in excellent condition. Self-carved, self-printed. Archivally sleeved, unmatted. Image size 14 13/16 x 9 7/8 inches; sheet size 16 1/4 x 11 inches (oban tate-e). Exhibited: 'Color in Relief: Wood Block Prints from Origins to Abstraction', Georgetown University Library, 2016. Literature: Oliver Statler, Modern Japanese Prints: An Art Reborn, 1959, pp.168-169; Eugene M. Skibbe, Yoshida Toshi 1911-1999: Diversity, Change, and Continuity in the Yoshida Art Tradition, Andon 53, Society for Japanese Arts, 1996, pp. 5-14; Kendall H. Brown, Yoshida Toshi: The Nature of Tranquility, in, A Japanese Legacy: Four Generations of Yoshida Family Artists, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 2002, pp. 72-80; p. 91, no. 55 Exhibition: Japan & Beyond: The Yoshida Family Legacy in Japanese Woodblock Prints, curated by Kendall Brown and Quyen Le, The Ruth and Sherman Lee Institute for Japanese Art, Hanford, CA. February 3, 2004 - March 27, 2004. Collections: Art Institute of Chicago, Clark Center for Japanese Art and Culture, Minneapolis Institute of Art, University of California Merced, University of Oregon (The Lavenberg Collection of Japanese Prints). ABOUT THE ARTIST Yoshida Toshi (1911-1995) began training at the age of 14 under his father, Yoshida Hiroshi, one of the most acclaimed artists of the Japanese 20th-century printmaking revival movement shin-hanga (’new prints’ created in the traditional collaborative system of Japanese printmaking). He studied from 1932 to 1935 at the Taiheiyo-Gakai (Pacific Painting Association), co-founded by his father. Before the Pacific War, Toshi traveled widely with his father in Asia, Europe, Egypt, and the United States. Later he continued his worldwide travels, especially in Mexico, the United States, Canada, and Africa. Following his father’s death in 1950, Toshi began his very personal exploration of abstraction, joining the sôsaku-hanga movement (’creative prints’ wherein the artist is creator, carver, and printer). During this richly creative period (1954 to 1973), Toshi created over three hundred nonobjective designs. In the early 1960s, Toshi returned to large-scale figurative work, concentrating on scenes of African wildlife in its natural habitat, and in 1984 he published the first of many illustrated children's books on African wildlife (Dobutsu Ehon Shirizu), which he continued to produce until the early 1990s. In 1966 he published a book with the artist Yuki Rei...

Category

1960s Abstract Art

Materials

Woodcut

Noteworthy - Original Contemporary Expressive Geometric Abstract Metal Sculpture
Noteworthy - Original Contemporary Expressive Geometric Abstract Metal Sculpture

Noteworthy - Original Contemporary Expressive Geometric Abstract Metal Sculpture

By Granville Beals

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Inspired by dance and weightlessness, Granville Beals' industrial metal sculptures are primarily about relationships. Concerned with form and abstraction, he does not merely manipula...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Metal, Steel

Love In Bloom - Color Drenched Figurative Abstract Textured Impasto Oil Painting
Love In Bloom - Color Drenched Figurative Abstract Textured Impasto Oil Painting

Love In Bloom - Color Drenched Figurative Abstract Textured Impasto Oil Painting

By Ekaterina Ermilkina

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Ekaterina Ermilkina’s original, abstract fine art paintings are created using a skillful combination of applying and removing oil paint with a palette knife on canvas. Her inspiratio...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Shambles in York City England Medieval Street Framed, Acrylic on Board, 2007
The Shambles in York City England Medieval Street Framed, Acrylic on Board, 2007

The Shambles in York City England Medieval Street Framed, Acrylic on Board, 2007

By Angela Wakefield

Located in Preston, GB

The Shambles in York City England Medieval Street Framed, Acrylic on Board, 2007 - a rare early work by leading British Contemporary Artist, Angela Wakefield. This colourful & energe...

Category

Early 2000s Abstract Art

Materials

Gesso, Paint, Varnish, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic, Board

“Let’s Play”
“Let’s Play”

“Let’s Play”

Located in Zofingen, AG

The painting "Let’s Play" immerses the viewer in a playful world, inviting them into a fairy tale reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. The girl holds a small rabbit tightly in her arm...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Abstract art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Abstract art 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 art created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, purple, orange, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Sumit Mehndiratta, Giorgio Lo Fermo, Francisco Nicolás, and Dadodu . Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Synthetic Resin 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 art, so small editions measuring 0.02 inches across are also available.