Bruce Denny
1960s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1970s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1980s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Granite, Bronze
20th Century Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Metal
1950s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1950s Abstract Abstract Prints
Paper, Screen
Edward ChavezGothic Towers, 1950s Abstract Modern Silkscreen Print, Orange, Brown, Green, circa 1955
People Also Browsed
1990s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
Lithograph, Offset
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Abstract Sculptures
Stainless Steel
Antique Late 18th Century Italian Neoclassical Paintings
Canvas
Antique 19th Century German Drawings
Paper
1980s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
Offset, Lithograph
2010s Abstract Paintings
Acrylic, Archival Paper, Graphite
Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Prints
Lithograph
Vintage 1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Glass
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Sculptures
Steel
2010s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Acrylic
Late 20th Century Contemporary Landscape Paintings
Oil
1970s Cubist Abstract Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Animal Sculptures
Porcelain
1980s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Sculptures
Bronze, Metal
Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Crayon, Pastel
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Glass
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Cut Glass
Recent Sales
Late 19th Century Modern Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
Mixed Media
1970s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1950s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Graphite
A Close Look at 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.
Find original abstract paintings, sculptures, prints and other art on 1stDibs.
Read More
Roberto Burle Marx’s Bold Brazilian Landscape Design Comes to New York
The New York Botanical Garden, in the Bronx, has mounted a multifaceted show honoring the polymath modernist's legacy, including new work by contemporary landscape maker Raymond Jungles.
Brooklyn Artist Angel Otero’s Abstract Works Tell a Unique Story about Art and Heritage
In his current show at New York's Lehmann Maupin gallery, the Puerto Rican–born talent reveals new paintings with a semiautobiographical aspect.