Abstract Sculptures
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 Sculptures
Archival Paper, Permanent Marker
1980s Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Abstract Sculptures
Stoneware, Ceramic
1970s Abstract Sculptures
Steel
Mid-20th Century Abstract Sculptures
Metal
1990s Abstract Sculptures
Iron
1990s Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1990s Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
Late 20th Century Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Abstract Sculptures
Fiberglass
1970s Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1970s Abstract Sculptures
Stainless Steel
1970s Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1960s Abstract Sculptures
Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Abstract Sculptures
Stone
Late 20th Century Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1990s Abstract Sculptures
Metal
Mid-20th Century Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1970s Abstract Sculptures
Stainless Steel
1910s Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1990s Abstract Sculptures
Slate, Steel
1990s Abstract Sculptures
Slate
1990s Abstract Sculptures
Granite, Bronze
1990s Abstract Sculptures
Granite, Bronze
1990s Abstract Sculptures
Granite, Bronze
1990s Abstract Sculptures
Granite, Bronze, Steel
1990s Abstract Sculptures
Concrete, Steel, Iron
1990s Abstract Sculptures
Granite, Bronze
Mid-20th Century Abstract Sculptures
Metal
1960s Abstract Sculptures
Wood
20th Century Abstract Sculptures
Metal
1910s Abstract Sculptures
Porcelain
1960s Abstract Sculptures
Steel
20th Century Abstract Sculptures
Steel
Mid-20th Century Abstract Sculptures
Metal
Mid-20th Century Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1970s Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
Late 20th Century Abstract Sculptures
Copper
1990s Abstract Sculptures
Metal
1950s Abstract Sculptures
Steel
1950s Abstract Sculptures
Wood
1950s Abstract Sculptures
Wood
1950s Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1960s Abstract Sculptures
Wood
1980s Abstract Sculptures
Wood, Mahogany
1980s Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1980s Abstract Sculptures
Metal
1980s Abstract Sculptures
Oil, Laid Paper, Mixed Media, Wood
1980s Abstract Sculptures
Metal
1980s Abstract Sculptures
Metal, Bronze
20th Century Abstract Sculptures
Wood
1990s Abstract Sculptures
Glass
1950s Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1980s Abstract Sculptures
Brass, Bronze
1980s Abstract Sculptures
Wood, Lithograph, Offset
Mid-20th Century Abstract Sculptures
Metal