What is Biomorphism in Art? 10 Awe-Inspiring Examples

Biomorphic art spans across mediums, from drawing to architecture: discover what this style is, and how natural forms can create unique shapes and patterns

The more we discover about the natural world, the more we realize its incredible complexity and potential to inspire design. Biomorphism is an aesthetic style that attempts to capture the beauty of nature, with rhythmic, decorative forms and intricate patterns.

Here, we’ll explore what exactly makes artwork “biomorphic”, then dive into both historical and recent examples from diverse mediums including illustration, architecture, and fashion.

What does biomorphic mean?

If we break down the word “biomorphic”, we get “bio” meaning life, and “morph” meaning form or shape. So, a biomorphic pattern or artwork should look organic with fluid shapes, as opposed to geometric patterns which tend to use straight lines.

Biomorphism has appeared around the world throughout history, but is especially common in Islamic art, where it’s used alongside calligraphy and geometry.

Biomorphism also refers to a modern art movement around the 1930s, where it became connected with the traditions of Surrealism and Art Nouveau. In all cases, flowery forms and blob-like, bouncy shapes became popular.

The style has developed further in the contemporary art space. Algorithmic and generative art are recent developments that use computers to generate artwork based on coded instructions, building more complex structures than a human could alone.

What are the key features of biomorphism?

Biomorphism can manifest in different ways across art forms: in fashion we see exaggerated curved lines that distort the body, while in illustrations the details can be contained within a strict circular pattern. But three key features show up consistently.

1. Circles and curves. The art evokes a sense of movement and fluidity.

2. Floral details. You can find callbacks to nature everywhere, with petal and leaf shapes.

3. Repeating patterns and tiling effects. These give a sense of endlessness, much like a Fibonacci spiral which appears commonly in the natural world.

Now you have a better idea of what the biomorphic style involves, let’s explore its wide influences across art forms.

10 examples of biomorphic art and design

1. Mamluk Architecture

The Mamluk Sultanate ruled over Egypt, the Levant, and Hejaz in the 13th to 16th centuries. Incredibly complex monuments were built during this time, heavily decorated with stucco, mosaics, and other carving techniques. The prayer hall below features an elaborate gilt ceiling with a repeating pattern of circular forms.

2. Meta Morphism, by Iris van Herpen

In contrast, here we see how varied this style can be from antiquity to the modern era! Dutch designer van Herpen’s 3D-printed jewelry and clothing made waves ever since she founded her label in 2007. The below piece, from the Meta Morphism collection (2022), features her trademark skeletal lines that are at once like bones and butterfly wings.

3. The Sagrada Família, by Antoni Gaudí

The Sagrada Familia is a church in Barcelona, still under construction over a hundred years since it was started. Its three facades (Nativity, Passion, and Glory) each display biomorphic shapes and patterns. Gothic and Art Nouveau overlap in repeated motifs, and the interior is constructed to resemble enormous trees. There are no exact right angles in the design, and few straight lines.

4. Oval with Points, by Henry Moore

Henry Moore was a British artist known for bronze sculptures twisted into abstract shapes. His reclining figures are iconic and appear around the world, and many scholars have suggested his sloping forms might refer to the hilly landscapes of his childhood in Yorkshire. He was a key figure in British Modernism.

5. Mandalas, by Asmahan Mosleh

Mosleh, known as @murderandrose on Instagram, is a UK-based artist who specializes in mandalas. These complex artworks inspired by Buddhist tradition start from a single center point and grow outwards as far as the artist will go: which can mean days for Mosleh! Mandala illustrations like this are usually outlined in pencil then painted or inked.

6. Palm Mosque, by Basil Al Bayati

Al Bayati, an Iraqi-born architect and designer, is a key figure in the school of Metaphoric architecture. Throughout his career he has been interested in how nature forms patterns, and his designs evoke images of trees and animals. The Palm Mosque at King Saud University in Riyadh is a key example, where palm trunks are a design feature in the pillars.

7. Anno oxypetalum, by Anna Ridler

Meaning “the year of spiked petals”, this 1985 piece is a hybrid between natural and human timekeeping. These flowers naturally open and close each day, marking the passage of time—but only with human observation can we note this. The piece was recently sold as an NFT, where the seller Sotheby’s noted, “nature is the original generative artist”.

8. Elle Loge La Folie, by Roberto Matta

Matta was a Chilean painter known for his role in the Abstract Expressionist and Surrealist movements. This oil painting from 1970 features alien-like beings that seem to glow, all depicted with soft biomorphic shapes. Despite this otherworldly aesthetic, Matta’s work was often political and explored darker depths of the human psyche.

9. Landscape in Waiting by Desmond Morris

Desmond Morris held his first exhibition in 1948 and continues to paint today. The 2020 work below evokes a sense of playfulness and surrealism with a style that harks back to early biomorphic abstract works. Morris is also a zoologist, specializing in animal behavior, and in interviews speaks about his invented creatures as if they exist in their own distinct world.

10. Subdivided Columns by Michael Hansmeyer

Finally, we come to a contemporary artist working at the cutting edge of manufacturing biomorphic forms. Having been influenced by Islamic art (e.g. ornamental vaultings known as muqarnas) as well as Greek doric columns, in these sculptures Michael Hansmeyer pushes the limits of engineering. These columns are generated rather than designed, resulting in super-intricate shapes that appear naturally crystalline.

3 online courses to learn more about biomorphic art

1. Artist, educator, and podcaster Esra Alhamal delves into the rich history of Islamic art while teaching you how to draw intricate motifs in her course, Create Biomorphic Patterns.

2. Learn how to draw mandalas with Lizzie Snow's beginner course.

3. Use Photoshop and Illustrator to design geometric, nature-inspired lettering with this course by Adrià Molins.