A resurgence of interest in Expressionism, Pop art, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism and other movements gained steam among artists of the 1970s and ’80s, in part as a reaction to the austerity of the prevailing minimalism and Conceptual art of the era. A decadent, bold and brash art style called Neo-Expressionism saw painters returning to figural representation, creating highly textured works that were imbued with intensely personal narratives.
Neo-Expressionist paintings are sensuous in nature and highly subjective in meaning. Expressive brushwork, highly pigmented colors and layered forms and materials lent sculptural attributes to the work and were used to depict symbolic narratives from history, mythology and the artist’s personal experience.
Prominent figures such as Jean-Michel Basquiat led the Neo-Expressionist movement in the United States with paintings and prints that were raw, emotional and often violent in nature. In Germany, Die Neuen Wilden (the “New Fauves”) was the name given to a group of postwar artists that included the likes of sculptor Georg Baselitz and Gerhard Richter, a painter and photographer who explored the possibilities of both abstraction and realism, sometimes in a single piece. The work of the New Fauves — labeled as such for its return to Fauvism’s textured brushwork and use of vibrant colors — shares commonalities with Neo-Expressionism, and Baselitz was a pioneer of the movement in Europe. In addition, Willem de Kooning’s pulsating action paintings and Julian Schnabel’s experimentation with the materiality of paintings also took shape during this period.
“I was trying to make paintings different from the paintings that I saw a lot of at the time, which were mostly minimal, and they were highbrow and alienating, and I wanted to make very direct paintings that most people would feel the emotion behind when they saw them,” said Basquiat.
Neo-Expressionism generated some polarizing opinions, with some celebrating the revival of personal subjectivity in art while others criticizing the movement for being too commercially driven and nostalgic. But most experts agree that Neo-Expressionism was a huge commercial success and culturally impactful, paving the way for the postmodern work of artists like Richter and Sigmar Polke.
Find original Neo-Expressionist paintings, prints, mixed-media works and other art on 1stDibs.
Black painting, water and plants, fractals, organic landscape, golden spiral
By TUSET
Located in Carballo, ES
Black Neoexpressionist Painting. This is an original artwork realized by TUSET in 2018. We can frame it in natural wood or black on request. The dimensions of the painting are 65 x ...
Ink, Handmade Paper
$357
"Gallo" by Enzio Wenk, 2020-21 - Watercolor and Marker, Abstract Animal, Rooster
By Enzio Wenk
Located in Bresso, IT
Translated title: "Rooster". Watercolor and marker on high-quality cotton paper, which is handmade in Italy. This is part of an album. The price refers to the single drawing.
Paper, Watercolor, Permanent Marker
"Studio per scultura" by Enzio Wenk, 2020/2022 - Watercolor on Paper, Abstract
By Enzio Wenk
Located in Bresso, IT
Translated title: "Study for a sculpture". Watercolor on high-quality cotton paper, which is handmade in Italy. This is part of an album. The price refers to the single drawing.
Paper, Watercolor
EL CARNICERO CONTRA EL GATO ARAÑA
Located in Cuernavaca, Morelos
Gouche on hand made paper
Paint, Paper, Glaze
"Ocean Window, " Oil Pastel on Grocery Bag signed by Reginald K. Gee
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Ocean Window" is an original oil pastel drawing on a grocery bag by Reginald K. Gee. It depicts fish and underwater plants with a frame of abstracted colors. The artist signed the p...
Oil Pastel, Found Objects
Las Ratas
Located in Cuernavaca, Morelos
Gouche on hand made paper
Paint, Paper, Glaze
Price Upon Request
Yellow
By Hunt Slonem
Located in Fairfield, CT
Framed dimensions 15.5 x 13.5 in.
Wood, Oil
Price Upon Request
Benny
By Hunt Slonem
Located in Fairfield, CT
Framed dimensions 11 x 9 in.
Wood, Oil
Price Upon Request
At Last
By Hunt Slonem
Located in Fairfield, CT
Framed dimensions 14.5 x 12.5 in.
Wood, Oil
Price Upon Request
Peonie Patch
By Hunt Slonem
Located in Fairfield, CT
Framed dimensions 15 x 3 in.
Wood, Oil
Price Upon Request
Emerald City
By Hunt Slonem
Located in Fairfield, CT
Framed dimensions 14.5 x 12.5 in.
Wood, Oil
$290
H 20 in W 14 in
Rainbowland Jellyfish I - Abstract Colorful Sea Creature Watercolor Painting
By Xiao Wen Xu
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Xiao Wen Xu's artistic practice is deeply influenced by her profound appreciation for the natural world. This artwork is part of her "Rainbowland Jellyfish" series. Through a masterf...
Paper, Powder Coating, Watercolor
Morris Graves, Abandon Nest, 1950, drawing
Located in New York, NY
This is a complicated drawing, even for Morris Graves (1910-2001), known as the Mystical Painter of Nature. Graves tried to be sensitive to the slightest tremor or breeze that a sma...
Ink, Watercolor
$200Sale Price|20% Off
H 7.09 in W 7.09 in D 0.79 in
Japanese Contemporary Art by Minako Asakura - Flowers
Located in Paris, IDF
Acrylic & watercolor on paper mounted on wood panel Minako Asakura is a Japanese artist born in 1973 who lives & works in Tokyo, Japan. As graphic designer & art direct...
Paper, Acrylic, Watercolor, Panel
$441
H 11.7 in W 8.27 in D 0.04 in
Original Drawing-Punch Diary-8 Months, Reaching-British Artist-documentary serie
By Shizico Yi
Located in London, GB
Punch Diary — 8 Months, Reaching Ink on Georgian oil paper Shizico Yi Part of the Punch Diary series, ongoing since 2026 Shizico Yi’s drawing practice centres on immediacy and emoti...
Ink, Archival Paper
$1,900
H 12 in W 16 in D 0.1 in
Post War Bay Area Figurative - Original Watercolor Painting Three Horses Signed
Located in Soquel, CA
Post War Bay Area Figurative - Original Watercolor Painting Three Horses on a Rolling Hill, Signed Vibrant watercolor of three horses in the Bay Area rolling hills with California P...
Paper, Watercolor
$4,875
H 25.375 in W 15.75 in
"Whale in a Sea of Symbols, " Drawing on Handmade Paper by Miguel Castro Leñero
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Whale in a Sea of Symbols" is an original ink and charcoal on handmade amate paper by Miguel Castro Leñero. The artist initialed the piece lower right. This piece features an abstra...
Charcoal, Ink, Handmade Paper
$595
H 12.25 in W 12.5 in D 1 in
For Kevin: signed Toucan Drawing in hardback monograph: An Art Rich and Strange
By Hunt Slonem
Located in New York, NY
Hunt Slonem For Kevin: signed Toucan Drawing in hardback monograph: An Art Rich and Strange Signed drawing done in ink on the title page of artist's book Ink drawing of a Toucan held...
Paper, Ink, Board, Offset
$1,200
H 30.5 in W 22.25 in
Large Ink Drawing Abstract Expressionist Rooster Woman Artist Judith Brown
By Judith Brown
Located in Surfside, FL
Judith Brown (December 17, 1931 – May 11, 1992) was a dancer and a sculptor who was drawn to images of the body in motion and its effect on the cloth surrounding it. She welded crush...
India Ink, Handmade Paper
$1,850
H 19.5 in W 16.5 in
Johann Seligmann: Engravings of Parrots After George Edwards, 1770, Framed
Located in Richmond, GB
"Sammlung Verschiedenr Auslandischer und Selener Vogel", Nuremberg 1770-1773. Edited by Johann Michael Seligmann (1749 -1776): engravings with original hand-colouring after the drawi...
Watercolor
$1,850
H 19.5 in W 16.5 in
Johann Seligmann: Engravings of Parrots After George Edwards, 1770, Framed
Located in Richmond, GB
"Sammlung Verschiedenr Auslandischer und Selener Vogel", Nuremberg 1770-1773. Edited by Johann Michael Seligmann (1749 -1776): engravings with original hand-colouring after the drawi...
Watercolor
$3,250
H 25.25 in W 21.625 in
"Giant Hybrid Hibiscus Butterfly with Flower, " Mixed Media by David Barnett
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Giant Hybrid Hibiscus Butterfly with Flower" is an original mixed media work by David Barnett that incorporates iridescent oil pastel, a dried hibiscus flower, and watercolor. It is...
Oil Pastel, Ink, Mixed Media, Watercolor
$15,000
H 12.5 in W 10.5 in D 0.5 in
Hunt Slonem - Watercolor painting (Hand Signed 3x to an Andy Warhol muse) Framed
By Hunt Slonem
Located in New York, NY
Superb provenance: gifted by Hunt Slonem to Andy Warhol muse Monique Van Vooren. A unique work with a unique, personal inscription and historic provenance - hand signed three times. ...
Watercolor
SOLD-Bunny Painting - CHL 1518
By Hunt Slonem
Located in New York, NY
This whimsical and sophisticated painting was realized by the esteemed contemporary painter, Hunt Slonem in 2014. It presents a stylized bunny rabbit, rendered with loose and express...
Canvas, Acrylic
CHL0403 - Bunny Painting
By Hunt Slonem
Located in New York, NY
This whimsical and sophisticated painting was realized by the esteemed contemporary painter, Hunt Slonem in 2013. It presents a stylized bunny rabbit, rendered with loose and express...
Canvas, Acrylic
AT0675- Bunny Painting
By Hunt Slonem
Located in New York, NY
This whimsical and sophisticated painting was realized by the esteemed contemporary painter, Hunt Slonem in 2013. It presents a stylized rabbit in profile, rendered with loose and ex...
Canvas, Acrylic
CRK 02129- Bunny Painting
By Hunt Slonem
Located in New York, NY
This whimsical and sophisticated painting was realized by the esteemed contemporary painter, Hunt Slonem in 2013. It presents a stylized bunny rabbit, rendered with loose and express...
Canvas, Acrylic
AT0661 - Bunny Painting
By Hunt Slonem
Located in New York, NY
This whimsical and sophisticated painting was realized by the esteemed contemporary painter, Hunt Slonem in 2013. It presents a stylized bunny rabbit, rendered with loose and express...
Canvas, Acrylic
EL REGALO DE LA GATA
Located in Cuernavaca, Morelos
Gouche on hand made paper
Paper, Paint, Glaze
Sold
H 8.625 in W 10.625 in
"The Journey, " Watercolor with Figure & Animal in Landscape signed by Yanda Katt
By Katt Yanda
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"The Journey" is an original watercolor painting by Katt Yanda. It depicts a human figure walking a horse or donkey. The artist signed the piece in the lower right. 4 1/2" x 6 1/2"...
Watercolor