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
Resin, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
1990s Abstract Mixed Media
Paint, Mixed Media, Monotype
20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Crayon, Oil
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media
1950s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media, Tempera
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Varnish, Coffee, Oil Pastel, Oil, Acrylic, Graphite
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Paint, Encaustic, Wax
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Metal
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Varnish, Coffee, Oil Pastel, Oil, Spray Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Varnish, Coffee, Oil, Spray Paint, Acrylic, Graphite
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Varnish, Coffee, Oil Pastel, Oil, Acrylic, Graphite
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wax Crayon, India Ink, Encaustic, Color Pencil, Graphite
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Archival Paper, Handmade Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Wood Panel
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Wool, Acrylic
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Fabric, Linen, Mixed Media, Vinyl
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Metal
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Resin, Mixed Media, Oil, Board
1970s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Plexiglass, Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Plywood, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Adhesive, Oil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Wood, Plywood, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Paper
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Paper
1990s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Wood, House Paint
1980s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Wood, House Paint, Cardboard
Early 2000s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Varnish, Oil Pastel, Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Archival Paper, Acrylic, Color Pencil
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Late 20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Oil
Early 2000s Abstract Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Board
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Canvas, Plaster, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
Plexiglass, Charcoal, Ink, Oil, Acrylic, Graphite