What is Form in Art? How Artists Use Form in Their Work

What is form in art, and why should you care? Let’s explore the element of form, its definition, uses and look at some examples.

Form has become an element in art that determines how an artist represents dimensions for two or three-dimensional art.

What is Form in Art?

Form is an element of art defined in three dimensions – height, width, and depth. The term ‘form’ is applied mostly to three-dimensional objects of visual art, such as sculpture or installation or the illusion of three-dimensionality in a two-dimensional work of art.

Apart from being expressed in three dimensions, form can also be found in a two-dimensional plane of painting and drawing. The artists create implied forms by applying perspective, light, and shadows. This results in optical illusions of two-dimensional objects coming to life.

Form in art should not be confused with shape. The latter term is used for two-dimensional images without implied form. Shape can be geometric or organic and refers to flat forms on a flat surface.

7 Principles of Art

Form is one of the elements of art, not principles of art. You can learn about each principle of art and element of art in the linked articles below:

1. Balance
2. Contrast and Emphasis
3. Movement and Rhythm
4. Unity and Variety
5. Harmony
6. Pattern 
7. Proportions and Scale

The 7 Elements of Art

1. Line
2. Color
3. Form (we are learning about form now!)
4. Shape
5. Value
6. Texture
7. Space

2 Types of Form in Art

Form in art is generally divided into two distinct categories: organic forms and geometric forms.

Organic form is usually irregular and mimics forms found in nature, while geometric is entirely man-made, strict, and often consists of straight lines.

Some artists create a mix of organic forms with geometric forms that fit their expressive intentions.

• Learn more about geometric and organic forms, as well as seven tools for showing form in art.

Organic Forms

Organic form in art refers to irregular shape, similar to any living object. Plants, humans, and animals change their form constantly by moving and growing, and organic form in art mimics this process.

The term biomorphic form in art refers to organic three-dimensional objects similar to human figures, flowers, and trees. However, an abstract form can also be organic, demonstrating the fluidity and dynamism of real-life objects.

Odilon Redon’s painting Lemon and Pepper is a good example of an implied organic form.

Although the painting is a two-dimensional surface, the shapes of a lemon and bell pepper are rendered with such precision and attention to light and shadow that they look completely realistic and life-like.

By implying organic forms, Redon gives life to layers of oil paint.

Geometric Forms

The geometric form in art is stable, artificial, and detached from the natural world. The most popular examples of geometric forms can be found in every geometry class: cubes, spheres, pyramids, cylinders, and cones.

Although geometric forms have been used in architecture since ancient times (think of the Egyptian Pyramids), modern artists started to use them in sculpture as well, especially with the rise of abstract art.

One of the most striking examples of using geometric forms in modern art was the works of the Czech artist František Kupka. Although Kupka was working on a two-dimensional plane of a canvas, his use of color and line created form and implied depth.

A Blend of Organic and Geometric Forms

Sometimes, artists mix the two forms together to create hybrids.

Such a technique perplexes the human mind and captures the viewer’s attention while they try to distinguish between the natural and the artificial.

Umberto Boccioni’s work Unique Forms of Continuity in Space represents an anthropomorphic figure that is comprised of fluid organic forms, sharp angles, and geometric shapes unimaginable for a living object.

Boccioni was seeking to reinvent humanity according to the new industrial age. Unique Forms of Continuity in Space is half-human, half-machine, a portrait of the new man of the new era.

What are the Qualities of the Three Dimensional Form?

Three-dimensional forms in art have two distinct qualities: volume and mass.

Volume of Form in Art

Volume is the amount of physical space occupied by the form. It includes all the elements of an artwork, as well as the negative space the work utilizes.

Open volume incorporating negative space makes the work of art feel lighter, as if it is floating over the surface.

Ukrainian artist Vladimir Tatlin’s work, Monument to the Third International, is a tall but lightweight structure of iron geometric forms.

Mass of form in art

Mass is a three-dimensional form, solid volume, immovable and impenetrable. The object’s contours have no air between them, occupying all available space inside its contours.

Among the most famous examples is the work of Rachel Whiteread called House. Whiteread visited an abandoned house and filled it with concrete, creating a massive cast of its negative space.

Why do Artists Need Art Form?

Every artist needs a strong understanding of form in order to manipulate the effect caused on a viewer by their artwork.

The right use of three-dimensional forms might evoke certain feelings or emotions, as well as create optical illusions, transforming the space around the artwork and its surrounding objects.

Form in art greatly contributes to the impression left by an artwork, according to the idea of the artist. Large and heavy geometric forms can seem intimidating and belittling to the viewer, while free-flowing organic forms suggest a connection to the natural world.

The drawings of Maurits Cornelis Escher are the perfect art examples of intimidating geometric forms conveyed through a flat surface. His mind-puzzling constructions of ladders and complex optical illusions leave an unsettling impression on the audience.

How Do We Perceive Form?

The human brain is capable of making sense of lines and shapes on a two-dimensional surface and identifying it with a three-dimensional object present in everyday life.

We would certainly not confuse a real human body with a painted one, but the connection made by our brain would be instant.

Our brain is trained to look for signs of a living creature in front of us. For our ancestors, the correct distinction between a friend and an enemy, a prey and a hunter, an animal and some unusual rock formation was crucial for survival.

At the same time, abstract form presents a bigger challenge to our minds. While our brain is still looking for clues and markers of a living being, human form, or at least familiar geometric shapes, it struggles to find a match for the image in front of our eyes.

Abstract forms are detached from reality enough to confuse us, but they still evoke associations with something we have already seen.

What are the 7 Forms of Art?

The term ‘art form’ has two meanings. Form as one of the art elements should not be confused with the seven art forms, in other words – categories of artistic expression defined by complexes of practices.

Each form of art is formed by many specific techniques, materials, skills, and expressive means.

The concept of seven forms of art in its present-day sense is relatively new in the course of human history. Up until the late Middle Ages, painting and sculpture were seen as mere crafts and were not valued as highly as they are today.

The word ‘art’ applied to disciplines that were studied in universities and not in messy artist workshops.

The Seven Art Forms of the Middle Ages, also known as Liberal Arts, were Grammar, Logic, Rhetoric, Arithmetic, Astronomy, Geometry, and Music. As the idea of unique artistic talent progressed, creative expressions gained more respect.

The Seven Forms of Art:

• Painting
• Sculpture 
• Literature 
• Architecture 
• Theatre 
• Music
• Cinema

Although the distinction between the forms of art is obvious, it is necessary to say that these forms can intersect and complement each other, especially in the domain of contemporary art.

A good example of multiple art forms working together is the work of South African artist William Kentridge. Kentridge combines animation, theatre, moving mechanisms, and sculptures to create his overwhelming immersive installations.

The Paradox of the Form

Even though the definition of form is clear and understandable, the practical aspect of it can be much more complicated. 

Painting is usually considered to be flat. Sculptures, on the contrary, are three-dimensional forms and can either have form in relief, a raised form on a flat background, or round, being a freestanding work that can be viewed from all sides.

However, famous artists often dismantle the barrier between painting and sculpture, shape and form in art. 

American Abstract Expressionist Jay Defeo spent eight years layering oil paint over the wooden structure. The result was monumental: a three-meter tall structure technically still is a painting, but its thickness and texture suggest sculptural qualities. 

Defeo was not the only artist seeking to blur the boundaries of form.

Other art examples of marrying painting with sculpture can be found in the works of Jackson Pollock. To create textured three-dimensional space on his canvases, Pollock often used unconventional materials like stones and sand mixed with fluid paint.

Form Element – Key Takeaways

Form is one of the seven elements of art that are crucial for artistic expression. All form is a three-dimensional representation that necessarily includes three key characteristics: height, width, and depth.

The term three-dimensional form in art applies not only to sculpture but to painting as well: form can be implied by using light, shadow, and perspective.

Art forms exist in two possible variations: geometric forms, constructed of simple geometric shapes, or organic, with free-form lines similar to those found in nature.