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Abstract Art

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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.

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Style: Abstract
New York Winter Scene
New York Winter Scene

New York Winter Scene

By Johann Berthelsen, 1883-1972

Located in Bryn Mawr, PA

Johann Berthelsen began his career as a professional singer. Graduating from the Chicago Musical College in 1905, Berthelsen toured the United States and Canada, performing in operas...

Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Red fish
Red fish

Red fish

By Irina Burda

Located in Zofingen, AG

The red fish is a symbol of confidence, stable good fortune, and abundance. It represents moving in one’s own rhythm, trusting intuition, and inner stability. The red color emphasize...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Watercolor, Archival Paper

Untitled 156_25 (Abstract Painting)
Untitled 156_25 (Abstract Painting)

Untitled 156_25 (Abstract Painting)

By Ludovic Dervillez

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

“Seagame”
“Seagame”

“Seagame”

By Syd Solomon

Located in Southampton, NY

0riginal acrylic on panel painting by the well known American artist, Syd Solomon. Signed Syd Solomon lower center. Signed and dated Syd Solomon 1971 and inscribed as titled on the reverse. 30 × 24 inches. Condition is very good, no issues. The painting is framed in its original wood with silver reveal floating frame. Overall framed measurements are 32.5 by 26.75 inches. Provenance: A private collector. American, 1917-2004 SYD SOLOMON BIOGRAPHY: Written by Dr. Lisa Peters/Berry Campbell Gallery Syd Solomon was born near Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1917. He began painting in high school in Wilkes-Barre, where he was also a star football player. After high school, he worked in advertising and took classes at the Art Institute of Chicago. Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, he joined the war effort and was assigned to the First Camouflage Battalion, the 924th Engineer Aviation Regiment of the US Army. He used his artistic skills to create camouflage instruction manuals utilized throughout the Army. He married Ann Francine Cohen in late 1941. Soon thereafter, in early 1942, the couple moved to Fort Ord in California where he was sent to camouflage the coast to protect it from possible aerial bombings. Sent overseas in 1943, Solomon did aerial reconnaissance over Holland. Solomon was sent to Normandy early in the invasion where his camouflage designs provided protective concealment for the transport of supplies for men who had broken through the enemy line. Solomon was considered one of the best camoufleurs in the Army, receiving among other commendations, five bronze stars. Solomon often remarked that his camouflage experience during World War II influenced his ideas about abstract art. At the end of the War, he attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Because Solomon suffered frostbite during the Battle of the Bulge, he could not live in cold climates, so he and Annie chose to settle in Sarasota, Florida, after the War. Sarasota was home to the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, and soon Solomon became friends with Arthur Everett “Chick” Austin, Jr., the museum’s first Director. In the late 1940s, Solomon experimented with new synthetic media, the precursors to acrylic paints provided to him by chemist Guy Pascal, who was developing them. Victor D’Amico, the first Director of Education for the Museum of Modern Art, recognized Solomon as the first artist to use acrylic paint. His early experimentation with this medium as well as other media put him at the forefront of technical innovations in his generation. He was also one of the first artists to use aerosol sprays and combined them with resists, an innovation influenced by his camouflage experience. Solomon’s work began to be acknowledged nationally in 1952. He was included in American Watercolors, Drawings and Prints at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. From 1952–1962, Solomon’s work was discovered by the cognoscenti of the art world, including the Museum of Modern Art Curators, Dorothy C. Miller and Peter Selz, and the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Director, John I. H. Baur. He had his first solo show in New York at the Associated American Artists Gallery in 1955 with “Chick” Austin, Jr. writing the essay for the exhibition. In the summer of 1955, the Solomons visited East Hampton, New York, for the first time at the invitation of fellow artist David Budd. There, Solomon met and befriended many of the artists of the New York School, including Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning, James Brooks, Alfonso Ossorio, and Conrad Marca-Relli. By 1959, and for the next thirty-five years, the Solomons split the year between Sarasota (in the winter and spring) and the Hamptons (in the summer and fall). In 1959, Solomon began showing regularly in New York City at the Saidenberg Gallery with collector Joseph Hirshhorn buying three paintings from Solomon’s first show. At the same time, his works entered the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Wadsworth Athenaeum in Hartford, Connecticut, among others. Solomon also began showing at Signa Gallery in East Hampton and at the James David Gallery in Miami run by the renowned art dealer, Dorothy Blau. In 1961, the Guggenheim Museum’s H. H. Arnason bestowed to him the Silvermine Award at the 13th New England Annual. Additionally, Thomas Hess of ARTnews magazine chose Solomon as one of the ten outstanding painters of the year. At the suggestion of Alfred H. Barr, Jr., the Museum of Modern Art’s Director, the John and Mable Ringling Museum in Sarasota began its contemporary collection by purchasing Solomon’s painting, Silent World, 1961. Solomon became influential in the Hamptons and in Florida during the 1960s. In late 1964, he created the Institute of Fine Art at the New College in Sarasota. He is credited with bringing many nationally known artists to Florida to teach, including Larry Rivers, Philip Guston, James Brooks, and Conrad Marca-Relli. Later Jimmy Ernst, John Chamberlain, James Rosenquist, and Robert Rauschenberg settled near Solomon in Florida. In East Hampton, the Solomon home was the epicenter of artists and writers who spent time in the Hamptons, including Alfred Leslie, Jim Dine, Ibram Lassaw, Saul Bellow, Barney Rosset, Arthur Kopit, and Harold Rosenberg. In 1970, Solomon, along with architect Gene Leedy, one of the founders of the Sarasota School of Architecture, built an award-winning precast concrete and glass house and studio on the Gulf of Mexico near Midnight Pass in Sarasota. Because of its siting, it functioned much like Monet’s home in Giverny, France. Open to the sky, sea, and shore with inside and outside studios, Solomon was able to fully solicit all the environmental forces that influenced his work. His friend, the art critic Harold Rosenberg, said Solomon’s best work was produced in the period he lived on the beach. During 1974 and 1975, a retrospective exhibition of Solomon’s work was held at the New York Cultural Center and traveled to the John and Mable Ringling Museum in Sarasota. Writer Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. conducted an important interview with Solomon for the exhibition catalogue. The artist was close to many writers, including Harold Rosenberg, Joy Williams, John D. McDonald, Budd Schulberg, Elia Kazan, Betty Friedan...

Category

1970s Abstract Art

Materials

Panel, Acrylic

Untitled
Untitled

Untitled

Located in New York, NY

Artist Unidentified /Unknown, "Untitled" Edition 19/100, 19.75 x 25.50, Late 20th Century Colors: Grey, Blue, Red, Turquoise Note* Unidentified Artist signature on bottom ...

Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Art

Materials

Lithograph

Two Little Friends
Two Little Friends

Two Little Friends

Located in Zofingen, AG

A woman rests among vibrant cushions in her golden dress, two small white dogs curled up beside her. A cozy, sunlit moment of quiet company. Ready on a stretcher bar, size 70/90/1 cm...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

Jazz Series Set of Lithographs
Jazz Series Set of Lithographs

Jazz Series Set of Lithographs

By Romare Bearden

Located in Rochester Hills, MI

Assembled Set of 7 Lithographs by Romare Bearden (1979) Artist: Romare Bearden Year: 1979 Title: Jazz Series Seven Lithographs. Unframed. Stored flat. Fresh colors. Publisher: Lon...

Category

1970s Abstract Art

Materials

Lithograph

Color abstraction 2
Color abstraction 2

Color abstraction 2

By Svetlana Saratova

Located in Zofingen, AG

This abstract artwork is created with alcohol inks on synthetic paper. Vibrant shades of pink, fresh green, violet, turquoise, and soft blue flow into one another, forming a rich and...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Ink, Synthetic Paper

"Forever"
"Forever"

"Forever"

By Nataliia Svitlychna

Located in Edinburgh, GB

In the luminous embrace of gold and shadow, this commanding abstract composition unfolds as a symphony of form and emotion. Bold, sweeping curves intertwine with geometric precision,...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Gold Leaf

Painting on Panel Titled: PDP698  44 x 66
Painting on Panel Titled: PDP698  44 x 66

Painting on Panel Titled: PDP698 44 x 66

By Cecil Touchon

Located in West Palm Beach, FL

Painting on Panel signed verso Cecil Touchon Born 1956 Austin, Texas is a contemporary American collage artist, painter, published poet and theorist living in Pagosa Springs, Colora...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Acrylic

Expressionist Figure by Mystery Artist
Expressionist Figure by Mystery Artist

Expressionist Figure by Mystery Artist

Located in New York, NY

Oil on canvas 24 1/2 x 20 x 2 in.

Category

20th Century Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Signed Paris School Abstract Expressionist Framed Original Oil Painting
Signed Paris School Abstract Expressionist Framed Original Oil Painting

Signed Paris School Abstract Expressionist Framed Original Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

French Paris School modernist abstract expressionist oil on board. Signed verso and framed. Overall dimensions: 10 x 12.5 inches. Artwork alone: 9 x 11 inches.

Category

Early 1900s Abstract Art

Materials

Oil

Rust Sapath II

Rust Sapath II

By Halsey Chait

Located in New York, NY

"Rust Sapath II" by Halsey Chait India Ink Drawing on Strathmore Paper 20" x 20"

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

India Ink, Ink, Paper

Horizon No. 2
Horizon No. 2

Horizon No. 2

By Iryna Bondar

Located in Edinburgh, GB

This contemporary semi-abstract landscape from the Horizon series transforms a familiar coastal scene into a place somewhere between memory and imagination. Broad areas of blue, sand...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Acrylic

Large Mid-Century Abstract Oil Painting By E. Costello
Large Mid-Century Abstract Oil Painting By E. Costello

Large Mid-Century Abstract Oil Painting By E. Costello

Located in San Francisco, CA

Mid Modern Abstract Oil Painting By E. Costello Large and impressive abstract oil painting created with oils on Masonite. This painting can hang vertical, or horizontal. Dimension...

Category

1960s Abstract Art

Materials

Oil

One Rhythm
One Rhythm

One Rhythm

Located in Zofingen, AG

One Rhythm At dawn, the world seems to pause between sleep and awakening. The heroine of this work feels herself to be part of a unified world, where humanity and nature exist within...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Oil

Chasmanthium Insignias: Abstract Encaustic Painting with Green, Earth Tones
Chasmanthium Insignias: Abstract Encaustic Painting with Green, Earth Tones

Chasmanthium Insignias: Abstract Encaustic Painting with Green, Earth Tones

By Allyson Levy

Located in Hudson, NY

Abstract encaustic painting with a green, earth toned palette. Made with natural plant material (Northern Sea Oats) "Chasmanthium Insignias I" made by Allyson Levy in 2021 encaustic and plant material on wood panel, 24 x 24 x 1 inches Lightweight, hangs with one d-ring, Signed, verso This modern abstract encaustic painting by Allyson Levy is made with Northern Sea Oats and green encaustic, sealed with a layer of neutral wax on a wood panel. The artist begins by finding the organic material in her 4-acre garden in upstate New York which she then arranges and embeds with encaustic on a wooden panel. The brown, earth toned sea oats are laid in a linear pattern on a wood panel with a surface of green encaustic and then sealed with clear wax. The encaustic wraps around to the sides of the panel, revealing some bumps and downward drips, accumulated during the natural drying process. The piece is lightweight and hangs on one d-ring. About the artist and her work: After moving to the rural town of Stone Ridge, NY seventeen years ago and starting a 4-acre botanical garden with her husband, mixed media artist, Allyson Levy, has found endless inspiration in the plant kingdom that surrounds her. The garden itself, named “Hortus Conclusus”, consisting of thousands of rare plants and edibles, remains at the epicenter of Levy’s art making. A fascination with earth’s bounty is expressed with her works in encaustic. Assorted organic material such as leaves, seeds, branches, insect wings...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Organic Material, Mixed Media, Encaustic, Wood Panel, Pigment

Antique American School Mid Century Modern Abstract Expressionist Oil Painting
Antique American School Mid Century Modern Abstract Expressionist Oil Painting

Antique American School Mid Century Modern Abstract Expressionist Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Antique American school abstract expressionist painting. Oil on board. Signed. In excellent original condition. Nicely framed in a period wood molding. Excellent condition, read...

Category

1940s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Original Lithograph I

Original Lithograph I

By Joan Miró

Located in Henderson, NV

Medium: original lithograph. The catalogue reference is Mourlot 857. Printed in 1972 at the Mourlot atelier and published for the "Miro Lithograph I" catalogue raisonne. Size: 12 1/2...

Category

1970s Abstract Art

Materials

Lithograph

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.