Seascapes Ellie

Ellie Davies is a fine art photographer who completed an MA in photography at the London College of Communication in 2008. Davies has been working in the forests of the UK for the past seven years, producing work that explores the complex interrelationship between the landscape and the individual. Her career goes from strength to strength. In 2017, she won the Magnum Photography Award, Fine Art Category and The People's Choice Award at the Aesthetica Art Prize 2016 both for her Stars series. She has also been awarded prizes at many prestigious Art Awards, including 1st place in the 2015 Smithsonian Photo Contest. She was recognized at the Barcelona International Photography Awards - Top 50 Photographers 2015 and was the Selectors Choice of the Royal Photographic Society’s 2015 Annual Exhibition. Davies has also been awarded the Kontinent Awards (2014), Art Gemini (2014), the Professional Women Photographers International Juried Exhibition (2012), Lens Culture International Exposure Awards (2011) and the PX3 Paris Prix de la Awards (2010). Her work has been extensively exhibited in solo and group shows in The Netherlands, London, Paris, Budapest, Kyiv, Moscow, St. Petersburg, The Rencontres d'Arles and last year at The Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Center, Northern Ireland and the Houston Centre for Photography. Davies’s work explores the fabricated nature of the landscape by making a variety of temporary and non-invasive interventions in the forest, which places the viewer in the gap between reality and fantasy. Creating this space encourages the viewer to re-evaluate how their relationship with the landscape is formed, and the extent to which it is a product of cultural heritage or personal experience.

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.

Since the introduction of photography in the 19th century, it has been used to show the earth’s diverse landscapes. Modern and contemporary landscape photography continues to capture scenes of landscapes from around the world while becoming much more exploratory.

Historically, artists have played a key role in landscape preservation. Early 20th-century landscape photography provided a powerful argument for the establishment of the U.S. National Park Service a century ago, and iconic national park shots by Ansel Adams and Eliot Porter captured the public’s imagination and fueled conservation efforts.

The world of landscape photography has grown far more experimental in the last several decades, bolstered by innovative techniques and creative talents. Abstract landscape photography is often a thought-provoking exploration of bold, bleeding colors. To understand just how abstract these images can be, look no further than Jean-François Rauzier's outstanding landscape compositions.

A simpler style is offered by minimalist landscape photography and its subdued tones. These pieces tend to imbue their surroundings with a sense of serenity, making them an excellent addition to bedrooms and quiet living rooms. And like any other works of art that you’ve brought into your home, there are many ways to arrange photography in a space. Small areas, for example, are ideal for displaying more petite pieces. These can also be positioned in a cluster as a gallery wall. You can stand framed landscape photography on an easel, a mantelpiece, floating shelves or on the floor leaning against a wall.

Browse exquisite landscape photography on 1stDibs today and find an eye-catching image to complement any home or collection.