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 DalĂ, 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
Canvas, Oil
1990s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
1970s Abstract Art
Oil, Canvas
2010s Abstract Art
Paper
1970s Abstract Art
Screen
1970s Abstract Art
Lithograph
1960s Abstract Art
Lithograph
2010s Abstract Art
Oil, Acrylic, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Paper, Pastel, Ink, Watercolor, Pen
2010s Abstract Art
Enamel
2010s Abstract Art
Gesso, Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Spray Paint, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Wax, Oil, Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
House Paint
1960s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
1960s Abstract Art
Screen
2010s Abstract Art
Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Chalk, Oil Crayon, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Digital, Giclée
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
1950s Abstract Art
Etching, Aquatint
1920s Abstract Art
Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Linen, Spray Paint, Acrylic
1960s Abstract Art
Woodcut
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Oil, Wood Panel
Artist Comments
The painting is a result of my impressions from traveling in Mexico. Old, colorful, dramatic looking houses under the bright sun look dynamic and full of life energy.
About the Artist
Suren is an impressionist painter eloquently capturing nature, landscapes, and cityscapes in paint. His body of work reflects several different stylistic approaches. Suren’s scenes in oil are inspired by Impressionist masters Monet and Van Gogh, while his watercolor series of flowers and birds are influenced by Eastern styles of painting and the colors of the Middle Eastern environment. Suren believes his role as an artist is to remind viewers that we all are part of the same natural universe.
Sunny Day, Street in Puerto Vallarta...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
1970s Abstract Art
Lithograph
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Oil
Mid-20th Century Abstract Art
Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic, Archival Paper
1970s Abstract Art
Masonite, Oil
1960s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Metal, Steel
Mid-20th Century Abstract Art
Lithograph
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
1960s Abstract Art
Lithograph
1970s Abstract Art
Etching, Aquatint
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
1970s Abstract Art
Screen
1970s Abstract Art
Lithograph
Late 20th Century Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Mixed Media
1960s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
1960s Abstract Art
Paper, Mixed Media, Laid Paper, Screen
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Acrylic, Canvas
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
1970s Abstract Art
Lithograph
1990s Abstract Art
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic