Leon De Smet
Recent Sales
20th Century Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Oil Pastel, Archival Paper
2010s Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Linen, Oil
2010s Contemporary Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Oil Pastel, Archival Paper
2010s Contemporary Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Oil Pastel, Archival Paper
2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings
Linen, Oil
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Oil Pastel
2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Oil Pastel
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pastel
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pastel
2010s Contemporary Interior Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pastel
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel, Paper
2010s Contemporary Landscape Paintings
Linen, Oil
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pastel
2010s Contemporary Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pastel
2010s Contemporary Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pastel
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pastel
2010s Contemporary Portrait Prints
Linocut
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Oil Pastel
2010s Contemporary Portrait Prints
Linocut
2010s Contemporary Figurative Prints
Linocut
1910s Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Still-life Paintings
Linen, Oil
2010s Contemporary Figurative Prints
Linocut
2010s Contemporary Figurative Prints
Linocut
20th Century Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
A Close Look at contemporary Art
Used to refer to a time rather than an aesthetic, Contemporary art generally describes pieces created after 1970 or being made by living artists anywhere in the world. This immediacy means it encompasses art responding to the present moment through diverse subjects, media and themes. Contemporary painting, sculpture, photography, performance, digital art, video and more frequently includes work that is attempting to reshape current ideas about what art can be, from Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s use of candy to memorialize a lover he lost to AIDS-related complications to Jenny Holzer’s ongoing “Truisms,” a Conceptual series that sees provocative messages printed on billboards, T-shirts, benches and other public places that exist outside of formal exhibitions and the conventional “white cube” of galleries.
Contemporary art has been pushing the boundaries of creative expression for years. Its disruption of the traditional concepts of art are often aiming to engage viewers in complex questions about identity, society and culture. In the latter part of the 20th century, contemporary movements included Land art, in which artists like Robert Smithson and Michael Heizer create large-scale, site-specific sculptures, installations and other works in soil and bodies of water; Sound art, with artists such as Christian Marclay and Susan Philipsz centering art on sonic experiences; and New Media art, in which mass media and digital culture inform the work of artists such as Nam June Paik and Rafaël Rozendaal.
The first decades of the 21st century have seen the growth of Contemporary African art, the revival of figurative painting, the emergence of street art and the rise of NFTs, unique digital artworks that are powered by blockchain technology.
Major Contemporary artists practicing now include Ai Weiwei, Cecily Brown, David Hockney, Yayoi Kusama, Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami and Kara Walker.
Find a collection of Contemporary prints, photography, paintings, sculptures and other art on 1stDibs.