Abstract 123 works

How to choose abstract art prints

What abstract art prints are, how to match colour and scale to a room, and when to shop the Abstract collection.

30 July 2026 TheArtFolio 2 min read

Abstract · TheArtFolio journal

Key answer

Abstract art prints emphasise colour, shape and gesture rather than a recognisable scene. Use this guide to choose scale and mood, then browse the Abstract collection when you are ready to buy.

AT A GLANCE — Abstract
123 works · 19 artists · 6 sizes · from £52.50
Most represented	Paul Duncan, 34 works
Shape of the collection	landscape 24 · portrait 30 · square 6

Abstract is the only genre here that leans portrait

Across the collection, portrait-format work outnumbers landscape — 32 to 27, with square well behind. Nothing else we carry does that. Landscape runs twelve to one wide; cityscape nearly six to one.

The reason is that abstraction has no subject dictating its shape. A landscape photographer frames what is in front of them; an abstract painter chooses the proportion as part of the composition, and vertical formats give a different kind of movement.

The practical upshot is useful: abstract is the genre to look at for a tall narrow wall, an alcove, or the space beside a door, where most of the catalogue has little to offer.

What abstract work is actually doing

Abstract work is often described by what it lacks — no recognisable subject. That is not very helpful when you are choosing.

What it has instead is a small number of variables doing all the work: colour relationships, the weight and direction of mark-making, and the balance of the composition. When an abstract piece does not work in a room, it is almost always one of those three rather than "I don't like abstract".

The three questions that narrow it fast

Is it gestural or geometric? Gestural work has visible movement and hand in it. Geometric work is built from edges and planes. People are usually firmly one or the other.

Is the palette narrow or wide? A narrow palette reads as calm and will sit with almost any room. A wide palette is a statement and has to be planned around.

Where is the weight? Abstract compositions usually have a heavy area and a light area. Which way round that sits matters enormously once it is on a wall.

Where it belongs

Every work in this collection is tagged for the sitting room, and around three quarters for a study or office. Very few are tagged for a bedroom.

That is a fair reflection of how abstraction behaves. It holds a long viewing distance well, because it has no fine detail to lose. It rewards being looked at repeatedly, which suits a room you work in. And it tends to be more alert than restful, which is why it appears less often above beds.

Scale and framing

Abstract work takes size better than almost anything else, because there is no subject to distort. A landscape blown up too far starts to look like a poster; an abstract simply gets more present.

If you are choosing between two sizes on an abstract piece, the larger one is usually right.

On framing, abstraction is the one genre where a wider moulding can genuinely add something. Our Venice at 3 cm and Swoop at 3.5 cm give the work an edge and turn it into an object in the room. Every work in the collection can be specified without a mount, which suits edge-to-edge compositions where a white border would interrupt the design.

Related genres

Browse the Abstract collection →

Quick answers for collectors

What are abstract art prints?

Work that emphasises colour, mark-making and composition rather than a recognisable subject. What makes one piece work and another fail is usually one of three things: whether it is gestural or geometric, whether the palette is narrow or wide, and where the visual weight sits.

What is the difference between gestural and geometric abstract art?

Gestural work has visible movement and the hand of the artist in it, built from sweeps, drips and texture. Geometric work is built from edges, planes and hard divisions. Most people find they prefer one clearly, and deciding which narrows a collection of 123 works quickly.

Does abstract art suit a narrow wall?

Better than any other genre here. Abstract is the only collection where portrait format outnumbers landscape, because abstraction has no subject dictating its shape. For a tall narrow wall, an alcove or the space beside a door, start here.

What size abstract print should I buy?

The larger of the two you are considering. Abstract work takes scale better than anything else because there is no subject to distort — a landscape enlarged too far starts to look like a poster, while an abstract simply becomes more present in the room.

Which rooms suit abstract art?

Sitting rooms and studies. Abstract holds a long viewing distance well because it has no fine detail to lose, and it rewards repeated looking, which suits a room you work in. It appears less often above beds because it tends to read as alert rather than restful.

Should abstract prints be framed with a mount?

Usually, but not always. Every work in this collection can be specified without one, which suits edge-to-edge compositions where a white border would interrupt the design. A wider moulding also works here — the 3 cm Venice or 3.5 cm Swoop give the piece presence.