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.
2010s Abstract Art
Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic
1980s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Acrylic
1960s Abstract Art
Lithograph
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic, Paper
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic
1970s Abstract Art
Newsprint, Screen
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Oil
1970s Abstract Art
Oil, Board
Early 2000s Abstract Art
Giclée
2010s Abstract Art
Pigment
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic Polymer, Ink, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Steel
2010s Abstract Art
Textile, Cotton
2010s Abstract Art
Cotton Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
A delicate cloud gently meanders along the horizon in artist George Peebles' ethereal seascape. He displays a striking view of the majestic ocean in a rare mo...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
Mid-20th Century Abstract Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic, Dye
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic, Canvas
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic
Late 20th Century Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
1970s Abstract Art
Lithograph
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Paint, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
Early 2000s Abstract Art
Lithograph
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
1990s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Abstract Art
Oil, Board
2010s Abstract Art
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Art
Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Paper, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
1970s Abstract Art
Lithograph
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Wood, Acrylic
1990s Abstract Art
Oil, Cardboard
Late 20th Century Abstract Art
Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil, Wood Panel
2010s Abstract Art
Resin, Acrylic, Wood Panel
1970s Abstract Art
Lithograph
2010s Abstract Art
Alabaster, Sandstone
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
1960s Abstract Art
Lithograph
2010s Abstract Art
Paper, Etching
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Abstract Art
Oil, Canvas
1950s Abstract Art
Wood, Oil
1910s Abstract Art
Paper, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
Artist Comments
"The source of inspiration for this painting came as I was walking in Manhattan in the rain," says artist Onelio Marrero. "This street is based on 8th Avenue ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
Artist Comments
Suren travels extensively, seeking out unique compositions in the neighborhoods, architecture and nature he encounters. For Suren, it is important for him to ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Art
Oil
1960s Abstract Art
Linen, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Pastel, Acrylic, Wood Panel