Abstract art is more than random shapes, colors and lines slap dashed together creating haphazard images and nonsensical pictures. Rather, the abstract art form is much more complex and interesting than simple chance and happenstance. It is a highly non-representational form, which conveys meaning by eliciting a direct emotional response without the use of figurative form. Abstract art blends the lines of specificity and meaning and harkens back to general ideas of form and perception, depicting images not in the natural world, but the world of simplicity and intrinsic shape.

Abstract art first gained its popularity in the 20th century and was used mainly to describe art forms such as cubist and futurist art. However, abstract art was not an invention of the 20th century but rather was a common form of art in both earlier periods in time as well as different cultural contexts. For example, Islamic religion does not allow the portrayal of humans and thus requires the use of shapes and general forms to illustrate the representations of people. Though the Western understanding of abstract art is not as strict, it does borrow much of the same set of rules when depicting common and well-known images, breaking them away from commonality to show their foundational form of sameness.

There are several notable names within the genre of abstract art including Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollock as well as Mark Rothko, Helen Frankenthaler and Wassily Kandinsky. There are hundreds of abstract art prints at Imagekind available to own, ready for your choice of framing. Imagekind offers a wide selection of both colorful abstract art and modern abstract art from not only distinguished artists but numerous quickly rising member artists as well. When you browse the abstract art gallery at Imagekind, feel assured that you are viewing some of the highest quality prints available.

The breaking down of form and image are at the core of abstract art. The reduction of form draws the viewer’s attention away from specific detail of external appearance to essential characteristics. This abstraction forces the viewer to focus on symmetry, shape and color to gain a true perspective of the genre.