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.
1970s Abstract Art
Newsprint, Screen
2010s Abstract Art
Paper, Acrylic
1970s Abstract Art
Screen
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic, Paper
1970s Abstract Art
Lithograph
1960s Abstract Art
Bronze
2010s Abstract Art
Wood, Wax, Archival Paper
20th Century Abstract Art
Ink
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Gold
1980s Abstract Art
Lithograph, Offset
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
Early 2000s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic, Oil, Cardboard
Artist Comments
Hope, peace, and joy emanate within the abstract landscape in artist Sarah Parsons' absorbing piece. She explores the process of transition through a rich gra...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Digital, Giclée
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Archival Pigment
2010s Abstract Art
Photographic Film, Emulsion, Printer's Ink, Watercolor, Photographic Pap...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
1970s Abstract Art
Lithograph
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Charcoal, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
1980s Abstract Art
Paint, Oil, Handmade Paper, Rag Paper, Mixed Media
20th Century Abstract Art
Lithograph
1960s Abstract Art
Screen
2010s Abstract Art
Acrylic
1960s Abstract Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Linen, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Oil, Panel
1990s Abstract Art
Copper
2010s Abstract Art
Archival Pigment
Mid-20th Century Abstract Art
Oil, Canvas
1960s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Linen, Dye
Artist Comments
Artist Tatiana Iliina expresses a solemn woodland at sunrise. "The air is crisp and a cool breeze touches the hardwood trees," narrates Tatiana. The sun slowl...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Acrylic
20th Century Abstract Art
Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Gesso, Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Art
Oil, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Oil, Canvas
1920s Abstract Art
Paper, Chalk
1990s Abstract Art
Gesso, Acrylic, Oil, Mixed Media, Cotton Canvas, Varnish, Paint, Cotton,...
1970s Abstract Art
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Steel
2010s Abstract Art
Archival Pigment
2010s Abstract Art
Stone, Wire
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Color
2010s Abstract Art
Archival Pigment
2010s Abstract Art
Paper, Acrylic
1980s Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Art
Giclée
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art
Canvas, Oil