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.
1980s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Art
Pastel
2010s Abstract Art
Cotton Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Color, Archival Pigment
2010s Abstract Art
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Linen, Ink, Mixed Media, Graphite
2010s Abstract Art
Porcelain, Paint
1960s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic, Canvas
Early 2000s Abstract Art
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Steel
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic, Pencil
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
1970s Abstract Art
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Abstract Art
Ink, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Art
Wood, Mixed Media, Oil, Magazine Paper
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Oil
1950s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
1990s Abstract Art
Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil, Board
1980s Abstract Art
Acrylic, Canvas
1960s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
1960s Abstract Art
Etching, Aquatint
1990s Abstract Art
Ceramic, Porcelain, Screen, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Art
Bronze, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Canvas, Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Artist Comments
A pink rose blooms against a dark background. Dynamic texture emerges from the use of various tools, such as sandpaper, palette knives, and sponges. Artist Sara...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Paper, Watercolor
Artist Comments
Artist Joey Korom paints a green abstract composition. He combines unconventional shapes to give the work multiple layers. "Subtle collisions suggest parts of...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Wood, Dye, Acrylic, Wood Panel
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Color
1990s Abstract Art
Permanent Marker, Lithograph, Offset
2010s Abstract Art
Textile, Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
1970s Abstract Art
Lithograph
Artist Comments
This geometric abstract conveys artist Terri Bell's feelings about witnessing nature's daily progression of tender new growth. It is a bright and harmonious a...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Acrylic, Cardboard
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Acrylic, Glass, Paper, Ink, Wood
20th Century Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Orange swatches create a structure at the center of the composition. On top is a gray orb with a beam shooting from its center. Splatters of blue and black pain...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Enamel
2010s Abstract Art
Ceramic
1980s Abstract Art
Linen, Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Abstract Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
1980s Abstract Art
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Wood, Lithograph, Offset
1960s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil





