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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.

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Style: Abstract
Abstract
Abstract

Abstract

Located in Genève, GE

Work on cardboard

Category

20th Century Abstract Art

Materials

Acrylic

Aura - Chrome metallic glazed ceramic sculpture
Aura - Chrome metallic glazed ceramic sculpture

Aura - Chrome metallic glazed ceramic sculpture

Located in East Quogue, NY

Hand-pitched chrome metallic glazed ceramic sculpture vessel by Jessamyn Go. White Stoneware, Bronze Metallic Glaze, 8" x 7 x 3.5 inches Jessamyn Go's work is deeply rooted in the ...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Ceramic, Stoneware, Glaze

Beginning to shine
Beginning to shine

Beginning to shine

Located in Zofingen, AG

"Beginning to shine" is when the darkness is doomed. The picture is filled with light and warmth that awakens hope. This is the moment when the darkness admits its defeat to the ligh...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Large Antique American Abstract Expressionist Flower Still Life Oil Painting
Large Antique American Abstract Expressionist Flower Still Life Oil Painting

Large Antique American Abstract Expressionist Flower Still Life Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Antique American modernist abstract still life painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed verso. Measuring: 48 by 56 inches overall, and 46 by 54 painting alone. In excellent origina...

Category

1960s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Yellow and black 2 abstraction.
Yellow and black 2 abstraction.

Yellow and black 2 abstraction.

Located in Zofingen, AG

The work is created using the fluid acrylic technique and is built on the contrast of deep black, rich green, and bright yellow-gold accents. The composition evokes a powerful natura...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

LARGE FRENCH CONTEMPORARY ABSTRACT CUBIST PAINTING - RENE LEROY (B.1932)
LARGE FRENCH CONTEMPORARY ABSTRACT CUBIST PAINTING - RENE LEROY (B.1932)

LARGE FRENCH CONTEMPORARY ABSTRACT CUBIST PAINTING - RENE LEROY (B.1932)

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Artist/ School: Rene Leroy (French b. 1932) signed Title: Abstract/ Cubist Composition Medium: mixed media, material and oil on canvas, framed, signed Size: frame: 29.5 x 37 ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Oil

Abstract 5, Abstract Oil Painting
Abstract 5, Abstract Oil Painting

Abstract 5, Abstract Oil Painting

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Patches of cream, turquoise, and grey fill this abstract painting. Blue and orange accents, along with black lines, create contrast. Scratches and marks bring d...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Oil

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

Hand Painted Proof#1-Moon Night-British Awarded Artist-Limited of2-One Off
Hand Painted Proof#1-Moon Night-British Awarded Artist-Limited of2-One Off

Hand Painted Proof#1-Moon Night-British Awarded Artist-Limited of2-One Off

Located in London, GB

[Moon Night ] is a part of her "Sunset Song" Series. This stunning One Off Artist's Proof is hand-painted on Giclee made on fine art paper by the artist Shizico , it is signed at fro...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Gesso, Oil, Acrylic, Archival Paper

"Viridis, " Limited Edition Giclee Print, 30" x 60"
"Viridis, " Limited Edition Giclee Print, 30" x 60"

"Viridis, " Limited Edition Giclee Print, 30" x 60"

By Elwood Howell

Located in Westport, CT

This abstract landscape limited edition print by Elwood Howell features a cool, green and pale blue palette. The artist's signature high horizon line forms a very slight valley at th...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Digital, Giclée

Abstract Landscape, large mid-century green painting, COBRA art movement
Abstract Landscape, large mid-century green painting, COBRA art movement

Abstract Landscape, large mid-century green painting, COBRA art movement

Located in Beachwood, OH

Erik Ortvad (Danish, 1917 - 2008) Abstract Landscape, 1946 Oil on canvas Signed and dated lower right 32 X 37.5 inches 35 x 40.5 inches, framed Born in 1917 in Copenhagen, Erik Ortvad was a surrealist painter and a founding member of the COBRA art...

Category

1940s Abstract Art

Materials

Oil

Abstract Oil Painting, Large Oil on Canvas, Signed Artwork from the 1980's
Abstract Oil Painting, Large Oil on Canvas, Signed Artwork from the 1980's

Abstract Oil Painting, Large Oil on Canvas, Signed Artwork from the 1980's

Located in AIGNAN, FR

Abstract oil painting on canvas signed on the back and dated 1988. A very attractive modern vintage abstract that is easy on the eye and yet significant to its surroundings. Here, ...

Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Art

Materials

Oil

Personatge I Estels II, 1979
Personatge I Estels II, 1979

Personatge I Estels II, 1979

By Joan Miró

Located in Beachwood, OH

Joan Miró (Spanish, 1893-1983) "Personatge I Estels II," 1979 Etching, aquatint in colors with embossing on Arches wove paper Signed in pencil lower right, numbered 26/50 lower left ...

Category

1970s Abstract Art

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

Almond Blossom Watercolor on Board, Kashmir Landscape, Signed, 1960
Almond Blossom Watercolor on Board, Kashmir Landscape, Signed, 1960

Almond Blossom Watercolor on Board, Kashmir Landscape, Signed, 1960

Located in Norfolk, GB

Dina Nath Walli (1908–2006) Almond Blossom, Kashmir Watercolour on Board c 1960 Framed size: 42.8cm x 52.8cm Image size: 27.5cm x 38cm Signed and dated 1970 on the verso, gifted fro...

Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Art

Materials

Board, Watercolor

Fire Bird Blue #2 - painting, acrylic on canvas
Fire Bird Blue #2 - painting, acrylic on canvas

Fire Bird Blue #2 - painting, acrylic on canvas

By Paul Fournier

Located in Bloomfield, ON

This colourful expressionist acrylic painting by Paul Fournier has a bird theme. He is known as the ‘exotic modernist’—Canada’s Paul Fournier has always loved the world of colour an...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

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

"Untitled #275 " watercolor print on fine art paper
"Untitled #275 " watercolor print on fine art paper

"Untitled #275 " watercolor print on fine art paper

Located in West Hollywood, CA

Over the past 20 years, Michelle Oppenheimer has become well known for composing paintings that capture the imaginative and organic possibilities of abstract watercolor and acrylic. ...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Paper, Inkjet

Gaia 78 - Black and White Diptych of Cloud in Sky with Flower in Grass

Gaia 78 - Black and White Diptych of Cloud in Sky with Flower in Grass

Located in Brighton, GB

Gaia 78 - Black and White Diptych of Cloud in Sky with Flower in Grass by Jaume Llorens Bach Gaia 78 is a 18cm x 24cm Black-and-White print on Premio Kozo 180gsm White Paper by Awag...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Black and White, Digital, Photographic Paper

Déchiré 03: Mixed Media Painting: Floral Motif & Feminist Discourse
Déchiré 03: Mixed Media Painting: Floral Motif & Feminist Discourse

Déchiré 03: Mixed Media Painting: Floral Motif & Feminist Discourse

Located in BARCELONA, ES

The work of Gloria Segura Jordá transcends mere aesthetics to constitute a feminist discourse deeply anchored in the pictorial. Her production challenges the passive gaze, inviting a...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Acrylic, Panel, Color Pencil

1960's French Cubist Abstract Oil Painting - Monogrammed
1960's French Cubist Abstract Oil Painting - Monogrammed

1960's French Cubist Abstract Oil Painting - Monogrammed

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Artist/ School: French School, signed with initials, dated 1960's Title: Cubist abstract Medium: oil painting on board, unframed board: 13.75 x 10.5 inches Provenance: private co...

Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Art

Materials

Oil

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

Staatliche Werkkunstschule Kassel (Prefatio) Poster /// Bauhaus Josef Albers Art
Staatliche Werkkunstschule Kassel (Prefatio) Poster /// Bauhaus Josef Albers Art

Staatliche Werkkunstschule Kassel (Prefatio) Poster /// Bauhaus Josef Albers Art

By Josef Albers

Located in Saint Augustine, FL

Artist: (after) Josef Albers (German-American, 1888-1976) Title: "Staatliche Werkkunstschule Kassel (Prefatio)" Year: 1957 Medium: Original Relief Print (Letterpress), Exhibition Poster on light wove paper Limited edition: Unknown Printer: Staatliche Werkkunstschule Kassel, Kassel, Germany Publisher: Staatliche Werkkunstschule Kassel, Kassel, Germany Sheet size: 24.75" x 17.63" Image size: 11.75" x 15.63" Condition: A few faint handling creases. Never framed, has been professionally stored away for decades. In excellent condition Extremely rare Notes: Provenance: private collection - Nuremberg, Germany. Poster produced for a special exhibition of Albers' work "Early Pictures from the Twenties and New Works" at the Staatliche Werkkunstschule Kassel from May 28 - June 8, 1957. The image featured on this poster is Albers' 1942 lithograph edition "Prefatio", (Danilowitz No. 103, page 76), from his 1942 "Graphic Tectonics" series of 9 lithographs, (Danilowitz No. 100-108, page 74-79). Printer's imprint upper right. This is an extremely rare poster being if not the, one of the, earliest documented Josef Albers exhibition...

Category

1950s Abstract Art

Materials

Paper

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

Raspberry peony on a golden background.
Raspberry peony on a golden background.

Raspberry peony on a golden background.

Located in Zofingen, AG

This painting is created with acrylic on canvas and depicts a realistic peony on a golden background. The flower is rendered in deep burgundy and crimson tones, its velvety petals u...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Ocean blue - abstract painting, made in blue color
Ocean blue - abstract painting, made in blue color

Ocean blue - abstract painting, made in blue color

By Mila Akopova

Located in Fort Lee, NJ

Interior design paintings. The work was done with alcohol ink in blue color on Yupo paper. The work is 11 by 14 inches in size, framed (gold or black) with a styrene face on a mat bo...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Paper, Ink

Signed Antique Painting: 'Still Life of Fruit and Flowers'
Signed Antique Painting: 'Still Life of Fruit and Flowers'

Signed Antique Painting: 'Still Life of Fruit and Flowers'

Located in St. Albans, GB

Mary Armour 1902 – 2000 Signed. Oil Paint on Board. Picture size: 24 x 24 inch (61 x 61 cm) Mary Nicol Neill Armour, née Steel, (27 March 1902 – 5 July 2000) was a Scottish landsc...

Category

20th Century Abstract Art

Materials

Board, 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

Huge French Contemporary Modernist Abstract Oil Painting Multi Colors
Huge French Contemporary Modernist Abstract Oil Painting Multi Colors

Huge French Contemporary Modernist Abstract Oil Painting Multi Colors

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Abstract Composition signed by Jacqueline VERDET (French, 1931-2023) oil painting on canvas, unframed canvas: 45 x 35 inches condition: the work is in overall very sound and good con...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Venetian Series, Dale Chihuly
Venetian Series, Dale Chihuly

Venetian Series, Dale Chihuly

By Dale Chihuly

Located in Fairfield, CT

Artist: Dale Chihuly (1941) Title: Venetian Series Year: 2018 Medium: Lithograph, silkscreen and acrylic on Waterford paper Edition: 79/125 Size: 37 x 25 inches Inscription: Signed a...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Acrylic, Intaglio, Screen, Lithograph

Creation Myth Ceramic Vase Sculpture, Abstract Expressionist
Creation Myth Ceramic Vase Sculpture, Abstract Expressionist

Creation Myth Ceramic Vase Sculpture, Abstract Expressionist

Located in Miami Beach, FL

This vessel was built using the traditional and ancient methods of coil building. Through this meditative process, ancestral connections are drawn. The composition wraps around the f...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Porcelain, Paint

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.