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.
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1970s Abstract Art
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Giclée
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
1970s Abstract Art
Lithograph
Artist Comments
This abstract painting features a light palette of peach and cream, complemented by areas of blue. Splashes of color add movement, guiding the eye across the ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Stainless Steel
1970s Abstract Art
Screen, Pencil, Graphite
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic
20th Century Abstract Art
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
1970s Abstract Art
Lithograph
1960s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
1990s Abstract Art
Mixed Media, Foam Board
20th Century Abstract Art
Monoprint
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
1980s Abstract Art
Pastel, Pencil, Graphite
1970s Abstract Art
Screen
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
1990s Abstract Art
Offset
1940s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
1950s Abstract Art
Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Mirror, Film
1970s Abstract Art
Lithograph
Late 20th Century Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Abstract Art
Screen
1980s Abstract Art
Lithograph
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Lacquer, India Ink, Acrylic, Pigment
2010s Abstract Art
Organic Material, Mixed Media, Encaustic, Wood Panel
1950s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
This abstract painting invites quiet reflection, evoking the stillness of a misty landscape mirrored in calm waters. A gentle palette of greens and blues wash...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Monotype
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Porcelain, Glaze
1970s Abstract Art
Screen
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Paper, Pastel, Ink, Watercolor, Pen
1960s Abstract Art
Lithograph
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic Polymer, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
Artist Comments
A happy accident led artist Heidi Hybl to create this artwork. She stepped away from her usual landscape inspiration and explored the freedom of pure abstractio...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Art
Paper, Lithograph
1970s Abstract Art
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Spray Paint
1990s Abstract Art
Handmade Paper, Monoprint
1940s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil Crayon, Acrylic, Pencil
Mid-20th Century Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
1970s Abstract Art
Screen
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Ink, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Oil, Archival Paper, Canvas
2010s Abstract Art
Gold Leaf
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Glitter, Mixed Media, Acrylic
1970s Abstract Art
Lithograph