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Abstract Paintings

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.

Find original abstract paintings, sculptures, prints and other art on 1stDibs.

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Style: Abstract
Color:  Beige
N° 665
Located in Toronto, CA
Robert’s work incorporates small poetic texts, often in a childlike manner. She did not utilize conventual tools, such as a paintbrush, but moved the paint with her hands. Though right-handed, she preferred to use her left hand to tap into a fragile creative energy akin to the mark-making of an untrained child’s first gestures. Her work, therefore, has a sense of discovery that is both assertive and tentative. Her poetic texts are evocative and sometimes nonsensical, functioning more compositionally than literally. Her works on paper are often composed of variegated scribbles, and her paintings are rich painterly statements that move between abstraction and fantastical landscapes. Louise Robert’s first professional exhibition was held in Montreal...
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media

Down To Earth
Located in Singapore, SG
Making mistakes is often a taboo in society. This forms a person's mentality and when problems come they tend to blame circumstances. This artwork invites us to be more open and acce...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic, Permanent Marker

Spill (Laocoön)
Located in New York, NY
Oil on canvas
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Singapore Noon 1.3
Located in New York, NY
Acrylic on Canvas
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Beings Series, Nicky Marais
Located in Windhoek, NA
Beings Series, 2018. Acrylic ink on paper. Nicky Marais is a Namibian artist, educator and activist who lives and works in Windhoek. Marais is well-known for her abstract artworks c...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Paper, Ink

Untitled
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Emerging from a history of innovative West Coast artists, who pioneered the Finish Fetish and Light and Space movements, Casper Brindle has mastered the industrial materials at his d...
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Resin, Automotive Paint, Acrylic, Panel

Yellow Car with Woman and Puppet
Located in ATLANTA, GA
Born in Moscow, Idaho,and raised in Seattle, Robert Jessup received his BFA from the University of Washington in 1975 and his MFA from the University of Iowa in 1979. His work has be...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

Untitled (Sesc Pompeia)
Located in New York, NY
Oil on canvas 62 x 62 in Unstretched Luciana Levinton de-contextualizes architectural elements, sketches facades, delineates floor plan...
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

Yellow Field, April 24, 2014
By Leora Armstrong
Located in New York, NY
Leora Armstrong grew up on the West Coast of Scotland surrounded by the sea, hills and Scottish weather. It was this changing light of the West Coast, upon the landscape, which happe...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

Ten Back
Located in ATLANTA, GA
Carlos J. Tirado (born on April 3, 1964 in Caracas, Venezuela) is an artist, painter and sculptor who has developed a very personal and precise line of work linked to Neo-Pop art. Wi...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Abstract
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
Signed lower right and a double sided painting.
Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Beautiful Disaster - Sold - Commission available
Located in New York, NY
Abstract Piece on canvas. Vibrant colors or red, black, pinks, greens, blues. About the Artist: Joanne attended the University of Pennsylvania where she studied as a photographer. She established a professional practice in studio photography in 2001, while her personal work began to explore the language of abstraction. This continued exploration inspired a transition into painting. Handler enrolled at The Art Students League of New York, where she studied with Peter Golfonopoulos for three years. She is currently studying under James Little...
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Spray Paint

RECTUS XVI
Located in Barcelona, ES
The painting is being offered with a work and authenticity certificate
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

"Yellow"
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: Rex Ashlock (1918 – 1999) Born in Spokane, Washington in 1918 Rex Ashlock was known for his abstract, figurative expression...
Category

1950s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Paintings on paper "Nature-Universe-Tool" ( 50 pieces folder)
Located in Cuernavaca, Morelos
One piece made of a folder with 50 acrylic paintings on paper, with measures 29.5 x 20 cm each paper.
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Handmade Paper

Red Diamond
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Peter Lodato offers new oils on canvas, whose layers of paint and scumbled surfaces resonate like tuning forks to the soul.
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

From this moment on
Located in New York, NY
Acrylic on canvas 95 x 78 Unstretched Vicky Barranguet found her own voice and colorful expression of life, emotions, and music through her studies with master painters, Larry Pons...
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

L7
Located in New York, NY
Oil on canvas
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

Yards of Love III C (amarillo, oxido)
Located in New York, NY
Acrylic on canvas 78 x 89 in Unstretched Vicky Barranguet found her own voice and colorful expression of life, emotions, and music through her studies with master painters, Larry P...
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Fandango, c. 1985
Located in Quogue, NY
Born in Philadelphia, Ben Wilson was a New York abstract expressionist painter. His work was exhibited frequently from the mid-thirties through sixties, and less frequently but consi...
Category

1980s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Bibi Nocturne XII, 2015, Oil and mixed media on canvas
Located in Atlanta, GA
Drawing on his extensive travels, Robert Kelly’s painted collages contain found print and material from around the world. Kelly has included antique botanical drawings...
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil

Somewhere Between Time and Space
Located in Santa Monica, CA
These daily drawings are a meditation on the moment as a process to make space for the current pandemic on a personal and collective experience.
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache

FRACTAL #008
Located in Marrakech, MA
Adhesives on galvanized sheet 3 layers satin varnish Thickness 4cm Signed on the back
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Metal

Healing Circle
Located in Santa Monica, CA
These daily drawings are a meditation on the moment as a process to make space for the current pandemic on a personal and collective experience.
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Astillero
Located in Cuernavaca, Morelos
Encaustic and oil on canvas
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Encaustic, Oil

Shigoto
Located in Fresno, CA
Shortly before Walt Esslinger died a few years ago, we talked in his small yellow painted studio in Bakersfield. Sixteen years my senior, he’d been my close friend, mentor and running mate since 1960. “You still writing?” he asked. “Yes,” I answered, taking in the space’s renovations he’d recently sub-contracted. Ninety one years old, and he was thinking ahead. “Do me a favor,” he said. “Write the Andy Warhol story.” Walt was a Central Valley guy, an L.A. guy, a Las Vegas guy. A man who knew his way around. “I want you to put on record what happened back then when I bought the soup can painting.” Back then was the fall of 1962. The two of us had been exhibiting our paintings in the L.A. Art Institute’s gallery for locals only. Walt had given legendary Ad Rhinehardt a story about how he and I had been working in both Edward Kienholz’s and John Altoon’s studios (false—we’d only been visiting). One morning, the Institute’s Director, who hadn’t suspected us to be charlatans yet, introduced us to a reed thin, tow headed young man leaning against the main gallery’s wall. “Meet Andy Warhola,” he said. “Andy is from New York.” “Warhol,” the boy/man said. “Painter?” Walt asked him. “Shoe Illustrator.” The director made a snorting noise I took to mean that Warhola or Warhol’s modesty was posed. He mentioned something about Andy having a show on the La Cienega strip of galleries. We exchanged mumbles about how the art world was in flux, nothing more than that, and Walt and I moved on. If this strange cat had anything to look at, we’d see it. It was a Monday, and La Cienega’s twenty some galleries would be opening new shows and serving champagne that evening. North La Cienega Avenue, laid over a network of oil veins decades before, had become the street for the Cool School, a group of artists and gallery people trying to bring Los Angeles’s art scene to life. The galleries were small but proud. Sure, Jazz was born on the Delta and raised in New Orleans, St, Luis and Chicago, but L.A. had fifty-three jazz joints according to Chet Baker, who’d blown with the best. Why then should the West Coast be lagging behind New York in the other truly American expression, abstract art? At the Ferus Gallery that night we found Warhol’s exhibit. “Shit,” I said. Walt grinned. “You no like?” “Not exactly my can of soup,” I said, peeking into the small space, loaded now wall to wall with paintings of Campbell’s Tomato Soup. Walt stepped into the space. “How about the idea of it?” I made my way through spectators looking at once to be confused, amused, enthused and abused. When I came back to Walt he was still smiling. “Why didn’t he silk screen ‘em?” I asked. “That’s probably his next move,” Walt said. “You wanna stay?” Walt’s keen eyes cased the joint. “I see Irving Bloom over there,” he said. “Believe I’ll stick around and talk with him.” Bloom had been operating this popular gallery for some time now. “One hundred a month,” he’d told me. “It’s not like I’m getting rich.” I stood around for a bit, heard a fellow abstract expressionist I’d met tell a young lady who looked to be lost, “Okay that’s the soup. Come with me, baby, and I’ll show you the juice.” Two doors down I stopped at the Primus-Stuart Gallery. A group of people had gathered around a display of soup cans, stacked grocer’s pyramid style in the window. All Campbell’s. All Tomato. A sign leaning against the grouping stated: “Get the real thing. Thirty cents each.” That’s the way it was. Twenty-four galleries forming a gauntlet between La Cienega’s 300 block, all the way up to Barney’s Beanery at the corner of Santa Monica. Hollywood types dressed to the nines, Beats dressed for the times just gone. Champagne popping...
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Oil

Contemporary Geometric Abstraction- Mixed Media Painting-480309102
Located in Beijing, CN
Description: Liu Gang(b.1965) 480309102 water-based and oil-based pigments on rice paper 146.5 by 145.2 cm Dated 2019 mounted and framed The artwork comes ...
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Rice Paper, Pigment

Abstract Composition Inspired by Bach, Framed Abstract Watercolor Painting, Pink
Located in Denver, CO
Original vintage watercolor painting by twentieth century San Francisco woman artist, Hildegarde Haas (1926-2002). "Bach - English Suite No.2 in A Minor...
Category

20th Century Abstract Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Abstract Sky - Oil Painting 201s by Giorgio Lo Fermo
Located in Roma, IT
Abstract Sky is an original oil on canvas on canvas realized by Giorgio Lo Fermo in the 2000s. Hand-signed by the artist on the back. The artwork represents an abstract landscape:...
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

Figure Sur Rouge (Figure on Red) /// Contemporary French Painting Minimalism Art
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Pierre Marie Brisson (French, 1955-) Title: "Figure Sur Rouge (Figure on Red)" *Signed by Brisson lower right. It is also signed and dated on verso Year: 1983 Medium: Origina...
Category

1980s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Paint, Oil, Handmade Paper, Rag Paper, Mixed Media

Figure sur Fond Rouge (Figure on Red Background) /// Contemporary Painting Art
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Pierre Marie Brisson (French, 1955-) Title: "Figure sur Fond Rouge (Figure on Red Background)" *Signed by Brisson lower right. It is also signed and dated on verso Year: 1983...
Category

1980s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Paint, Mixed Media, Oil, Handmade Paper, Rag Paper

Abstract Landscape Sky Painting of English Countryside by British Urban Artist
Located in Preston, GB
Colourful Abstract Landscape & Sky Painting with Reds, Purples & Blues of Pendle Hill in the Northern English Countryside by leading British Urban Artist Angela Wakefield. Art measu...
Category

Early 2000s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Gesso, Acrylic, Oil, Mixed Media, Cotton Canvas, Varnish, Paint, Cotton,...

Steven Baris, Ruse Of Transparency 13, 2014, plexiglass, acrylic paint
Located in Darien, CT
Steve Baris is interested in the interconnections of the built environment and spatial experience. His artwork is a response to a largely overlooked type of landscape that is emerg...
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Plexiglass, Acrylic

Mid Century Modern Boats and Bridge, Abstracted Maritime Landscape Painting
Located in Soquel, CA
Mid Century Modern Boats and Bridge, Abstracted Maritime Landscape Painting Wonderful mid-century modern abstracted maritime seascape by listed San...
Category

1950s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Paper, Oil

Abstract Expressionist Female Nude
Located in Soquel, CA
Unique expressionist nude figure by Michael Eggleston (American, 20th Century). From a collection of his works. Unframed. Measures 40"H x 30"W. Eggleston is a San Francisco Abstract...
Category

1990s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Antique American Signed Abstract Expressionist Female Modern Sunset Oil Painting
By Gloria Banning
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist abstract expressionist signed oil painting by Gloria Banning (1924-2007). Oil on canvas, circa 1954. Signed. Titled, "Sunset Vignette" on verso. Display...
Category

1950s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Reflections Abstract - Two Sided Abstract Expressionist Painting on Paper
By Jack Madson
Located in Soquel, CA
Reflections Abstract - Two Sided Abstract Expressionist Painting on Paper Brilliant abstract expressionist work by Jack Madson (American, b-1927). A Felton, Caliornia artist. Madson ...
Category

Early 2000s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Paper, Oil Pastel, Acrylic

You can always bring me flowers., Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
You can always bring me flowers. - Acrylic on Linen, 36"x36" During the summer, I am always amazed how it feels to be outside when the flowers are in full bloom and bursting with co...
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Mid Century Lake Anza Berkeley Bay Area Abstract Expressionist Landscape W/C
Located in Soquel, CA
Brilliantly colorful mid century expressive abstracted landscape of Lake Anza in Berkeley by Bay Area artist Howard Margolis (American, 1927-2015). Signed “Margolis” in lower right c...
Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Bleecker Street, Abstract Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A modern abstract painting in cool blocks of blues and grays vibrating with brilliant red and pastel yellow. "Like its Manhattan namesake, 'Bleecker Street...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Brown abstract painting JL540, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Radek Smach - Original abstract painting on canvas. Mixed media. My works are part of many private collections all over the world. Ready to hang. No framing required (it can be...
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Gloria Saez, Campos de Castilla, Oil on paper, 2011
Located in New York, NY
"Campos de Castilla - Castile Landscape" by Gloria Saez is a horizontal abstract, oil paint on paper with muted, yellows, pinks, reds and neutral shades of blues and grays. This is...
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil, Paper

Camaraderie (Abstract painting)
Located in London, GB
Camaraderie (Abstract painting) Acrylic on canvas — Unframed This artwork will be shipped rolled in a dent-resistant tube. This method is especially safe for large works, and provid...
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

"Mississippi Blues Trail" - Contemporary Mixed-Media Collage Painting
Located in New Orleans, LA
I first saw these lush paintings at a show at Loyola University in New Orleans, and was greatly struck by them. I tracked down the artist, then heading up the art department at Mills...
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media

Out of the Blue 01, Original Contemporary Colorful Expressionist Forest Painting
Located in Boston, MA
Out of the Blue 01, Original Contemporary Colorful Expressionist Forest Painting 26" x 48" x 1" (HxWxD) Acrylic on Canvas In this expressionist landscape scene, artist Poonam Choudhary...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Antithesis (Abstract painting)
Located in London, GB
Antithesis (Abstract painting) Acrylic on canvas — Unframed This artwork will be shipped rolled in a dent-resistant tube. This method is especially safe for large works, and provide...
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

LA LUNE
Located in Tulsa, OK
Holly Addi makes paintings to explore the art of abstraction and the philosophy of beauty in imperfection.
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Sophie
Located in Greenwich, CT
Sophie is an expressive and highly individualistic Post Impressionist work reminiscent of Chaim Soutine. Cottavoz isn known and celebrated for using incredibly thick paint that is a...
Category

1960s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

French Contemporary Art by Achao - Vâhana XXXVIII, Più Vicino del Paradiso
Located in Paris, IDF
Acrylic & ink on free hanging canvas Achao's paintings are an invitation to joy and serenity. Through a combination of motifs, colors and transparencies, the painting entitled ‘Vâha...
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Ink, Acrylic

Abstract Watercolor Painting, 'Design for Light', 2004 by David Ruth
Located in Oakland, CA
This is a contemporary abstract watercolor painting by artist David Ruth. This series of paintings often feature bright colors and vibrant layouts that draw the viewer in. They are c...
Category

Early 2000s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Abstract Watercolor Painting, 'Design for Space', 2003 by David Ruth
Located in Oakland, CA
This is a contemporary abstract watercolor painting by artist David Ruth. This series of paintings often feature bright colors and vibrant layouts that draw the viewer in. They are c...
Category

Early 2000s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

French Contemporary Art by Achao - Mandala XIV, Più Vicino del Paradiso
Located in Paris, IDF
Acrylic & ink on free hanging canvas Achao's paintings extend an invitation to joy and serenity. Through an interplay of motifs, colors, and transparencies, the painting titled ‘Man...
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Ink, Acrylic

The Field Catcher
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Harold Town (1924-1990) remains one of the best-known and most intriguing artists from the "Painters Eleven" group. Town's reputation was established in the late 1950s with a serie...
Category

1980s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Ink, Oil, Pencil, Color Pencil

French Contemporary Art by Achao - Vâhana XXXVII, Più Vicino del Paradiso
Located in Paris, IDF
Acrylic & ink on free hanging canvas Achao's paintings are an invitation to joy and serenity. Through a combination of motifs, colors and transparencies, the painting entitled ‘'Vâh...
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Ink, Acrylic

Hello Sunshine, Chromatic Collision Series, Abstract Geometric Line Painting
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Robert Petrick's "Hello Sunshine" is a fusion of meticulous geometry and bold abstract expression. From the artist's Chromatic Collisions series, this...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Signal 5 (~55% OFF LIST PRICE - LIMITED TIME ONLY!)
Located in Kansas City, MO
Jennifer Bricker-Pugh Signal 5 Acrylic on Panel Year: 2022 Size: 10x10x1.5in Signed, dated and inscribed by hand COA provided Ready to hang Ref.: 924802-1093 Jennifer is an Abstract...
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Panel

Short-term change 3, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Bright abstract painting with bold colors, great conversation starter. At the crossroads: should I do it or not? - Title: Short-term change 3- A radiograph of my mind series - Med...
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Short-term change 7, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Bright abstract painting with bold colors, great conversation starter. - Title: Short-term change 7 - A radiograph of my mind series - Medium: acrylic, mixed media - Support: canv...
Category

2010s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Abstract paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Abstract paintings 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 paintings 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 Giorgio Lo Fermo, Sumit Mehndiratta, Nestor Toro, and Cindy Shaoul. 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 paintings, so small editions measuring 0.1 inches across are also available.

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