Abstract Mixed Media
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.
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Encaustic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Glitter
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Resin, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Wood Panel
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Glaze, Oil Crayon, Acrylic, Pencil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Oil Pastel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Metal, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Glaze, Oil Crayon, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Acrylic, Vinyl
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Encaustic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Glitter
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Encaustic, Mulberry Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Glaze, Oil Crayon, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Glitter, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Encaustic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Glaze, Oil Crayon, Acrylic, Pencil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Plaster, Wax, Acrylic, Wood Panel, Pigment
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Textile, Canvas, Paper, Mixed Media, Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Glitter, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Glaze, Oil Pastel, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Glaze, Oil Crayon, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Varnish, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Paper, Acrylic, Gouache, Pencil, Color Pencil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Soft turquoise and vibrant reds create a striking contrast while shimmering gold leaf symbolizes the returning sunlight and the promise of renewal. The layers o...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Encaustic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Metal
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Canvas
1990s Abstract Mixed Media
Thread, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Rag Paper, Screen
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Plywood, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Glaze, Oil Crayon, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Acrylic, Canvas, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Glaze, Oil Crayon, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Glaze, Oil Crayon, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Glaze, Oil Crayon, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Glaze, Oil Crayon, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Linen, Ink, Mixed Media, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Glaze, Oil Crayon, Acrylic, Pencil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Plaster, Board, Pigment