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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
Returnable Items Only
Mid Century French Geometric Abstract in Black White and Navy Signed SG
Mid Century French Geometric Abstract in Black White and Navy Signed SG

Mid Century French Geometric Abstract in Black White and Navy Signed SG

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Title: Mid Century French Geometric Abstract in Black White and Navy Signed SG by Serge Guerin (b. 1916), French signed lower right “SG”, name stamped verso Acrylic and gouache on ar...

Category

20th Century Abstract Art

Materials

Ink, Acrylic, Gouache

Large Impressive American Abstract Expressionist Modern Interior Oil Painting
Large Impressive American Abstract Expressionist Modern Interior Oil Painting

Large Impressive American Abstract Expressionist Modern Interior Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Vintage American modernist abstract interior scene oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed and titled verso, "Bertoia Chair". Handsomely framed in a period molding. Excellent ...

Category

1950s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Flower Arrangement in Carved Wooden Bowl - Abstract Botanical Painting on Paper
Flower Arrangement in Carved Wooden Bowl - Abstract Botanical Painting on Paper

Flower Arrangement in Carved Wooden Bowl - Abstract Botanical Painting on Paper

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Krisanne Souter weaves together elements of nature and ancient feminine archetypes, such as the Mother and the Mystic. Botanical themes, playful elements, and unexpected surprises ar...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Paper, Ink, Acrylic, Watercolor, Color Pencil

Untitled 154_25 (Abstract Painting)
Untitled 154_25 (Abstract Painting)

Untitled 154_25 (Abstract Painting)

Located in London, GB

Ludovic Dervillez is a French abstract painter whose practice is a powerful interrogation of how painting can still be a living, resonant space, focusing on the vital tension between...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media

Every Which Way, Abstract Oil Painting
Every Which Way, Abstract Oil Painting

Every Which Way, Abstract Oil Painting

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Dorothy Gaziano builds layers of orange and cream over deep blues and black using oil paint and cold wax. The interplay of light and dark draws the viewer in,...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Oil

A young girl's dream

A young girl's dream

By Niki de Saint Phalle

Located in Paris, FR

Lithograph, 1972 Handsigned by the artist in pencil and numbered 187/300 Publisher : Galerie Putman Printer : Clot, Bramsen & Georges (Paris) Catalog : Chenivesse n°9 Arches Paper W...

Category

1970s Abstract Art

Materials

Lithograph

The Red Cloth 153 - Abstract Flowy Minimalist Figurative Ink Painting on Paper
The Red Cloth 153 - Abstract Flowy Minimalist Figurative Ink Painting on Paper

The Red Cloth 153 - Abstract Flowy Minimalist Figurative Ink Painting on Paper

By Bettina Mauel

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Bettina Mauel expresses dynamism and sensuality in her paintings: “I paint what I experience,” she articulates. “This includes landscapes, flowers, and people in motion, capturing th...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Linen, Ink, Mixed Media, Graphite

Interior, large, colorful figural abstract red, orange, blue acrylic of couple
Interior, large, colorful figural abstract red, orange, blue acrylic of couple

Interior, large, colorful figural abstract red, orange, blue acrylic of couple

By Richard Andres

Located in Beachwood, OH

Richard Andres (American, 1927-2013) Interior, 1976 acrylic on canvas signed lower right, signed and titled verso 50 x 59.5 inches Richard Andres was born in Buffalo, New York in 1927. A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1950, he was immediately drafted and served for two years in the army as a mural painter. He received his Master of Arts from Kent State in 1961. A frequent exhibitor at galleries and museums and winner of multiple May Show prizes, Andres taught art in the Cleveland Public Schools for 28 years, as well as teaching the University of Buffalo, the Cleveland Institute of Art and the Western Reserve University. Very little in Richard Andres’ childhood would have predicted his love of classical music, mid-century-modern architecture and certainly not his lifelong passion for art and in particular abstract art. Richard’s father, Raymond, had no more than a third-grade education, and his mother, Clara, was one of thirteen children – only three of whom lived into adulthood and none of whom attended high school. They lived, when Richard was a boy, in a dingy area of Buffalo, NY in a walk-up apartment situated above a tavern. Raymond and Clara supplemented the income from their factory jobs in the bar downstairs with Raymond playing ragtime on the piano and Clara serving drinks. This often left Richard and his two older brothers at home alone to fend for themselves. The two older boys, Raymond and Russell, were - unlike Richard- rather rough and tumble and entertained themselves with stickball, boxing and the like. Richard, on the other hand, from a very young age liked to draw, or better yet even, to paint with the small set of watercolors he received for Christmas one year. Paper, however, at the height of the depression, was hard to come by. Luckily, Clara used paper doilies as decoration for the apartment and Richard would contentedly paint and then cut up doilies, gluing the pieces together to create collages. At eight-years-old, he discovered the Albright-Knox Museum (then known as the Albright Art Gallery) and spent several hours a week there studying the paintings. He was particularly fond of Charles Burchfield‘s landscapes, enamored with their ‘messiness’ and thinking that they somehow captured more ‘feeling’ than works he was previously familiar with. For his tenth Christmas, he asked for and received a ‘how-to’ paint book by Elliot O’Hare. Through this self-teaching, he assembled the portfolio needed for acceptance to Buffalo Technical High School where he studied Advertising Arts. In his Junior year, he was encouraged to enter a watercolor painting, “Two Barns,” in the national 1944-45 Ingersoll Art Award Contest and was one of twelve grand prize winners – each one winning one hundred dollars. More importantly the painting was exhibited at the Carnegie Institute Galleries, which resulted in his winning a national scholarship to the Cleveland School of Art (The Cleveland Art Institute). He flourished at the art school under the tutelage of faculty members such as Carl Gaertner, as well as that of visiting artists such as William Sommer and Henry George Keller. He would say in later years that Gaertner, in particular, influenced his attitude toward life as well as art. “Gaertner,” Andres said, “believed that there was no need to be a ‘tortured artist’, that an artist should rather enjoy beauty, family, and life in general.” Free to spend his days as he chose, he wandered the Cleveland Art Museum for most of the hours he was not attending classes or painting; the remaining time was spent drinking coffee at a local hangout with art school friends – which is where he met fellow Henry Keller scholarship winner, Avis Johnson. Richard was immediately smitten with Avis, but being rather shy, it took him the entire summer of 1948 to build up his courage to ask her out. Over that summer he ‘thought about Avis’ and worked in a diner to save money. He also used the hundred-dollar prize money won in High School to visit the first Max Beckmann retrospective in the United States at the City Art Museum in St. Louis. Over a half century later he spoke of that exhibit with a reverence usually reserved for spiritual matters, “I walked in and it was like nothing I had ever seen before... the color...It just glowed.” Returning to campus in the Fall, the first thing he did was go to the coffee shop in hopes of finding Avis. He did, and she, upon seeing him, realized that she was also smitten with him. They quickly became known as ‘the couple’ on campus, and a year later, with Richard being drafted for the Korean war, they were quickly married by a Justice of the Peace, celebrating after with family at Avis’s Cleveland home. As a gift, faculty member John Paul Miller...

Category

1970s Abstract Art

Materials

Acrylic

Boats in Harbor (French Riviera painting)
Boats in Harbor (French Riviera painting)

Boats in Harbor (French Riviera painting)

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Michel Colin (b.1934). Boats in Harbor, 1969. Gouache on paper, sheet measuring 16 x 20 inches. Signed and dated lower right. Sheet is unframed. Michel Colin, born in 1934, live...

Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Art

Materials

Paper, Gouache

"Ocean Waves #09" Mixed Media Painting

"Ocean Waves #09" Mixed Media Painting

Located in Denver, CO

Ana Hefco's (US based) "Ocean Waves #09" is an original, hand made mixed media painting that depicts an abstracted color field of blue, teal and beige, that is reminiscent of an aerial/satellite image of a coastal beach where the waves crash on shore. Artist Bio and Statement: Born and raised in Bucharest Romania, I am a self-taught dreamer and artist. To dream is my path and to paint is my dream. Lack of control is not my strong suit, but in the painting process things are different. The resin (also known as liquid glass) has a mind of its own and I learn to mindfully let go every time I paint. I allow those liquid color induced emotions I feel to drive me and take lead of my hands and at the end of the process, it’s just music and bliss. My inspiration is always nature's force, balance, perfection in purpose and beauty. It can be a place I travelled or sailed to or just a feeling floating on our boat docked in a Turkish marina or just on anchor nearby a Greek taverna on a remote tiny island in the Mediterranean or Aegean Sea. It can be this artist as a little girl reading...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Resin, Wood, Mixed Media

1950s "Abstract #4" Ink and Gouache Painting Univ of Paris
1950s "Abstract #4" Ink and Gouache Painting Univ of Paris

1950s "Abstract #4" Ink and Gouache Painting Univ of Paris

By Donald Stacy

Located in Arp, TX

Donald Stacy "Abstract #4" c.1950s Ink & Gouache on paper 10.5x19.5" brown, ripple, wood frame 11.5”x1”x20.75” Signed in pencil lower right with label on reverse Came from artist's e...

Category

Early 20th Century Abstract Art

Materials

Paper, Ink, Gouache

Abstract Composition - Screenprint by Renata Rampazzi - 1986

Abstract Composition - Screenprint by Renata Rampazzi - 1986

Located in Roma, IT

Screen print on paper realized in 1986. Hand signed. Artist proof. A striking abstract colour screenprint by Italian artist Renata Rampazzi, executed in 1986. The composition is d...

Category

1980s Abstract Art

Materials

Screen

Morning Magic, Abstract Oil Painting
Morning Magic, Abstract Oil Painting

Morning Magic, Abstract Oil Painting

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Artist Dorothy Gaziano layers orange and light blue with oil paint and cold wax. Using black to enhance details, she applies marks and scratches, adding contr...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Oil

I Let Myself Bloom
I Let Myself Bloom

I Let Myself Bloom

Located in Zofingen, AG

shipped rolled in a tube. I Let Myself Bloom from the series Inner Landscapes This work is part of the Inner Landscapes series, where landscape becomes a reflection of an inner stat...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

No.080925 by Thierry Martenon - vertical wood sculpture, totem
No.080925 by Thierry Martenon - vertical wood sculpture, totem

No.080925 by Thierry Martenon - vertical wood sculpture, totem

Located in Paris, FR

No.080925 is an abstract sculpture in wood by French sculptor Thierry Martenon. Maple wood, India ink patina, 161 × 60 × 22 cm. This large sculpture elegantly combines different text...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

India Ink, Maple

Large Floral Bouquet Still Life of Flowers Impressionist oil
Large Floral Bouquet Still Life of Flowers Impressionist oil

Large Floral Bouquet Still Life of Flowers Impressionist oil

By Maurice Vagh-Weinmann

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Summer Bouquet by MAURICE VAGH WEINMANN (Hungarian, 1899-1986) signed lower right oil painting on board, framed framed size: 30 x 24 inches provenance: private collection, South of...

Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Art

Materials

Oil

Abstract 2569
Abstract 2569

Abstract 2569

Located in Zofingen, AG

This artwork captivates with its abstract representation of a serene landscape, dominated by green and pink hues. The piece is a vivid explosion of color and texture, invoking the es...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Oil, Acrylic

“Untitled”
“Untitled”

“Untitled”

By John Little

Located in Southampton, NY

Early, original oil on canvas painting by the well known American abstract expressionist artist, John Little. Signed and dated lower right, 1958. Signed and dated verso. Rose Fried...

Category

1950s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Ruz  Big  Red  Grey  Black    Abstract Acrylic oncanvas Painting
Ruz  Big  Red  Grey  Black    Abstract Acrylic oncanvas Painting

Ruz Big Red Grey Black Abstract Acrylic oncanvas Painting

By Rafael Ruz

Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL

Original artwork by Spanish artist Rafael Ruz. Acrylic in perfect condition. While contemplating the painting of Ruz, we are inclined to talk about real ‘psychodrama’, in the sam...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Viktor Kobylianski Large Scale Abstract Diptych Red Rose Palette 2025
Viktor Kobylianski Large Scale Abstract Diptych Red Rose Palette 2025

Viktor Kobylianski Large Scale Abstract Diptych Red Rose Palette 2025

Located in Barcelona, Barcelona

At Escat Gallery we are committed to maintaining the highest standards of trust and professionalism for our collectors. Every artwork in our collection comes with a Certificate of Au...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Pigment

Expression 2, abstraction
Expression 2, abstraction

Expression 2, abstraction

Located in Zofingen, AG

The work is created in the fluid art technique on canvas, where the primary expressive element is the movement of paint. The composition is structured around a dynamic diagonal flow ...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Vibrant Modernist Abstraction by Claire Burch
Vibrant Modernist Abstraction by Claire Burch

Vibrant Modernist Abstraction by Claire Burch

Located in New York, NY

Claire Burch (American, 1925-2009) Untitled, 20th century Oil on canvas 24 x 30 in. Framed: 31 2/3 x 37 3/4 x 1 1/2 in. Signed lower right: Claire Burch After attending grade school in Brooklyn, Burch completed a commercial art course at Washington Irving High School in Manhattan and received her B.A. in English from NYU. In the suburbs of Great Neck, New York, she first began writing poetry and articles which were published in Life magazine, The New Republic, Mademoiselle, McCall's, Saturday Review, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, and numerous literary quarterlies and anthologies.[1] Burch also developed a career as a psychiatric writer, publishing two books on the subject: Careers in Psychiatry and Stranger in the Family. In the early 1970s Burch became a playwright and painter. Her play Ten Cents a Dance was optioned to be directed by José Quintero, the famous O'Neill interpreter. Burch wrote a total of seven plays and several folk operas, but eventually moved on to filmmaking and video anthropology—she was an early adapter of video as a medium. In 1978, Burch moved to California with her longtime companion Mark Weiman, publisher and owner of Berkeley's Regent Press. She had endured a series of illnesses and wanted to escape the harsh climate of Manhattan. Burch gained insight and inspiration from insanity and the often unexpected behavior associated with it. She would often videotape homeless people in People's Park and Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, which were collected in her film People's Park in Berkeley: Then and Now. The film documented the dispute between homeless activists and the University of California from the riots of 1969 through 1996 by interviewing park "regulars," and profiling the events surrounding the deaths of park supporters James Rector and Rosebud Denovo.[2] She also produced documentaries on noted cultural figures such as James Baldwin (whom she knew as a teenager), Timothy Leary and Country Joe McDonald. Also of note was Oracle Rising, a film about the legendary psychedelic newspaper The SF Oracle published in the Haight-Ashbury district during the Summer of Love. Her last completed film was Elegy for the Naked Guy...

Category

20th Century Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Jeu de la Cape (III), from A Los Toros Avec Picasso
Jeu de la Cape (III), from A Los Toros Avec Picasso

Jeu de la Cape (III), from A Los Toros Avec Picasso

By Pablo Picasso

Located in Washington, DC

Artist: Pablo Picasso Title: Jeu de la Cape (III) Portfolio: A Los Toros Avec Picasso Medium: Transfer lithograph Date: 1961 Edition: Unnumbered Frame Size: 18 1/4" x 20 3/4" Sheet S...

Category

1960s Abstract Art

Materials

Lithograph

Vintage American Modernist Signed Abstract Expressionist Framed Oil Painting
Vintage American Modernist Signed Abstract Expressionist Framed Oil Painting

Vintage American Modernist Signed Abstract Expressionist Framed Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

This mid-century abstract composition employs a dynamic interplay of geometric planes and gestural brushwork, rendered in a vibrant yet balanced palette of pastel pinks, acid yellow...

Category

1970s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

French Expressionist Abstract Original Painting Artists Studio Provenance
French Expressionist Abstract Original Painting Artists Studio Provenance

French Expressionist Abstract Original Painting Artists Studio Provenance

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) gouache painting on paper/ card unframed: 14.75 x 11 inches condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings we ha...

Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Art

Materials

Oil

Speedy Snoopy (Original Artwork On Wood Panel)
Speedy Snoopy (Original Artwork On Wood Panel)

Speedy Snoopy (Original Artwork On Wood Panel)

By Mauro Oliveira

Located in LOS ANGELES, CA

**STORE CLOSURE - UP TO 80% OFF - TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT** ***EVERYTHING MUST GO BY DECEMBER 31ST!*** >>The artist is moving to a new full time venture in 2026<< _________...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Acrylic, Wood Panel

Three Totems - Large Oversized Abstract Modern Textural Grey Steel Sculptures
Three Totems - Large Oversized Abstract Modern Textural Grey Steel Sculptures

Three Totems - Large Oversized Abstract Modern Textural Grey Steel Sculptures

By Granville Beals

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Inspired by dance and weightlessness, Granville Beals' industrial metal sculptures are primarily about relationships. His original artworks capture the essence of Abstract Expression...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Metal, Steel

"Quiet Garden III" floral large painting
"Quiet Garden III" floral large painting

"Quiet Garden III" floral large painting

Located in Zofingen, AG

Abstract textured acrylic painting on canvas 100x100x2 cm (39,4 x39,4 x 0,8 inches). Mixed Media on gallery wrapped canvas. The work is ready to hang. No framing required. The sides ...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Spray Paint, Acrylic

Abstract Landscape Painting: Acrylic on Canvas, 21st Century
Abstract Landscape Painting: Acrylic on Canvas, 21st Century

Abstract Landscape Painting: Acrylic on Canvas, 21st Century

By Katarina Joys

Located in London, London

extra large scale abstract painting artist: Katarina joys 110x210cm abstract painting, landscape, The item is located in central London, United Kingdom. The painting will be shippe...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil, 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.