Abstract Paintings
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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1960s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Wood, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Abstract Paintings
Watercolor, Gouache
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Part of Heidi Hybl's ongoing series on birds in flight, this artwork captures a flock mid-flight. Their bold, abstract forms contrast with the soft background...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Linen, Archival Ink, Spray Paint, Acrylic
Late 20th Century Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Ink, Acrylic, Canvas, Cardboard
2010s Abstract Paintings
Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Pigment, Resin
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Plywood, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Wood, Dye, Acrylic, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Graphite
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Cotton, Wax, Oil
1970s Abstract Paintings
Paper, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Ink, Oil, Acrylic
1990s Abstract Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
Movement and texture fill this abstract composition, with swirling patterns evoking a sense of fluidity. The expressive strokes and earthy tones create an ene...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
Artist Comments
Thick layers of paint create a richly textured, abstract depiction of spring. The repetitive, linear strokes combined with the seamless shift in colors add dept...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Acrylic, Archival Ink
1950s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Clay, Canvas, Spray Paint
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Lacquer, India Ink, Acrylic, Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1960s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic, Oil
1960s Abstract Paintings
Gouache
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Early 2000s Abstract Paintings
Cardboard, Oil Pastel, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Paintings
Acrylic, Cardboard, Pencil, Color Pencil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1940s Abstract Paintings
Oil
1960s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Paintings
Acrylic
1950s Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil