Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
CONTEMPORARY STYLE
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.
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Style: Contemporary
"Comedians at the Airport, " Oil Pastel on Grocery Bag signed by Reginald K. Gee
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Comedians at the Airport" is an original oil pastel drawing on a grocery bag by Reginald K. Gee. The artist signed the piece lower right. It depicts two abstracted figures over a fi...
Category
1990s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil Pastel, Found Objects
"Double Tone, " Pastel on Paper Portrait signed by Reginald K. Gee
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Double Tone" is a pastel on paper signed by Reginald K Gee. This portrait is of a bald man in a dark room. He is an ashy blue color, whereas the background is warm yellow, red, and ...
Category
1990s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Oil Pastel
"Painting Style of 814 BC, " Oil Pastel on Grocery Bag signed by Reginald K. Gee
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Painting Style of 814 BC" is an original oil pastel on a grocery bag by Reginald K. Gee. The artist signed the piece lower right. Painting Style of 814 BC, of 1999, is one of Gee’s ...
Category
1990s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil Pastel, Found Objects
"Seated Figure in Studio, " Oil Pastel on Grocery Bag signed by Reginald K. Gee
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Seated Figure in Studio" is an original oil pastel drawing on a Safeway grocery bag by Reginald K. Gee. The artist signed the piece lower left. It features an abstracted figure seat...
Category
1990s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil Pastel, Found Objects
"Dance Studio, " Oil Pastel on Grocery Bag signed by Reginald K. Gee
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Dance Studio" is an original oil pastel drawing on a grocery bag by Reginald K. Gee. The artist signed the piece lower right as well as signing and dating it on the back. It depicts...
Category
1990s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil Pastel, Found Objects
"Ulsto, " Abstract Figurative Oil Pastel signed by Reginald K. Ge
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Ulsto" is an original oil pastel drawing on grocery bag by Reginald K. Gee. The artist signed the piece on the back. This piece features abstract color fields but also depicts an ab...
Category
1990s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil Pastel, Found Objects
"Upside Down Couple Strolling To Lunch, " Oil Pastel signed by Reginald K. Gee
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Upside Down Couple Strolling to Lunch" is an original oil pastel drawing on illustration board by Reginald K. Gee. The artist signed the piece lower right and upper left. This piece...
Category
1990s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil, Illustration Board
"Two Citizens, " Figurative Oil Pastel on Grocery Bag signed by Reginald K. Gee
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Two Citizens" is an original oil pastel drawing on a grocery bag by Reginald K. Gee. The artist signed the piece upper left. Gee engages a variety of themes in his work, including ...
Category
1990s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil Pastel, Found Objects
"3AM Sleepwalking Composer, " Oil Pastel signed by Reginald K. Gee
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"3AM Sleepwalking Composer" is an original oil pastel drawing on a grocery bag by Reginald K. Gee. The artist signed the piece lower right as well as signing & dating it on the back....
Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil Pastel, Found Objects
Canadian Contemporary Art by Christian Frederiksen - Darwin
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil monotype on paper
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil, Paper
Canadian Contemporary Art by Christian Frederiksen - Darwin, Ghost
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil monotype on paper
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Oil
Rugged Motto Offspring
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Through processes like transgression, confrontation and hybridization Renato Garza Cervera’s work questions and generates a series of reflections upon contemporary culture and relate...
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Archival Paper
Austrian Contemporary Art by Peter Hofmann Gir - The Gaze
Located in Paris, IDF
Collage on paper
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper
Austrian Contemporary Art by Peter Hofmann Gir -Jonny Hallyday, Malcolm Young
Located in Paris, IDF
Collage on paper
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper
Austrian Contemporary Art by Peter Hofmann Gir - Penthesilea
Located in Paris, IDF
Collage on paper
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper
Austrian Contemporary Art by Peter Hofmann Gir - Kschessinskaja und Nikolaus II
Located in Paris, IDF
Collage on paper
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper
Austrian Contemporary Art by Peter Hofmann Gir - The Beautiful Midsummer Night
Located in Paris, IDF
Collage on paper
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper
Panéjo with stomachs N°4
Located in Ciudad de México, MX
Enveloped by outstretched paintings, Gonzalo García reveals the ever-present ghosts of our past and present in a delicate swirl of color, light, and fle...
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Color Pencil, Graphite
Kazakh Contemporary Art by Baurjan Aralov - No Title, Woods Dynamics
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink on paper
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Paper
Places (1)
Located in Montreal, Quebec
“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” ― Albert Einstein.
Always working with graphite and charcoal, Robbie Cornelissen’s limited palette emphasises the stark sombre nature of his metaphysical drawings, The Undertow is his sixth solo exhibition at Art Mûr. At the centre of the exhibition hovers Terra Nova, a dark and desolate world parallel to our own. Robbie Cornelissen’s drawings, such as The Space of Absence and Thriller, seem to pull from the stop motion’s frames. Other images, made especially for The Undertow isolate key fragments; the cloud, mounds and timeless dwellings, Cornelissen’s signature technical interest.
In addition to his methodical approach, Cornelissen uses the written word, scrawling and erasing terms repeatedly, in English, French, and German, these fastidious markings and exact translations leave a trace and a glitch on paper and screen. Much of his existing work includes words and phrases like “tribunal,” “myself when I am real” and “the need to disappear.” Do they identify what forms, systems and sentiments that are, or could be present? Or do they warn of what is to come?
Suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body, Cornelissen’s clouds extend down to the surface, looming over Earth and Terra Nova. But are they harmless clouds, or associated with nuclear explosions? And is that the ash, dust, pollution and detritus of these invented places, the remnants of an unsustainable society, a dream factory? Or the promise of life anew? In weather forecasting, or aeromancy, the presence of clouds can promise darkness and gloom, but they can also bring cleansing.
The ominous aura of the grid, an applied system and structure used by many, including draughtsmen, architects, urban planners, designers and artists to organise and sometimes classify information, is a recurring element in his work. The grid can be observed from a distant bird’s eye view, or close up, allowing Cornelissen’s large format drawings...
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Archival Paper, Pencil, Graphite
Chinese Contemporary Art by Wang Fei - Untitled 13
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink & collage on Chinese paper
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Paper
Chinese Contemporary Art by Wang Fei - Untitled 12
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink & collage on Chinese paper
Framed 120 x 100 cm
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Paper
Chinese Contemporary Art by Wang Fei - Untitled 9
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink & collage on Chinese paper
Framed 130 x 94 cm
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Paper
Chinese Contemporary Art by Wang Fei - Untitled 8
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink & collage on Chinese paper
Framed 130 x 94 cm
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Paper
Chinese Contemporary Art by Wang Fei - Untitled 5
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink & collage on Chinese paper
Framed 130 x 94 cm
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Paper
Chinese Contemporary Art by Wang Fei - Untitled 3
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink & collage on Chinese paper
Framed 130 x 94 cm
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Paper
Chinese Contemporary Art by Wang Fei - Untitled 4
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink & collage on Chinese paper
Framed 130 x 94 cm
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Paper
Chinese Contemporary Art by Wang Fei - Untitled 2
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink & collage on Chinese paper
Framed 105 x 243 cm
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Paper
Fly Over New York City Illustration - Optimism - Empire State Building
Located in Miami, FL
If people don't swat you . . . then something else happens." Illustration for Blechman's popular book Franklin the Fly (Mankato, MN: Creative Editions, 2007). Watercolor, pen and ink...
Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor, Pen
Korean Contemporary Art by Shin Seung-Hun - Healing Greenland Chunja, The Tiger
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink, acrylics, charcoal on Korean Paper
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Acrylic
Cloud (Surtsey 1963)
Located in Montreal, Quebec
“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” ― Albert Einstein.
Always working with graphite and charcoal, Robbie Cornelissen’s limited palette emphasises the stark sombre nature of his metaphysical drawings, The Undertow is his sixth solo exhibition at Art Mûr. At the centre of the exhibition hovers Terra Nova, a dark and desolate world parallel to our own. Robbie Cornelissen’s drawings, such as The Space of Absence and Thriller, seem to pull from the stop motion’s frames. Other images, made especially for The Undertow isolate key fragments; the cloud, mounds and timeless dwellings, Cornelissen’s signature technical interest.
In addition to his methodical approach, Cornelissen uses the written word, scrawling and erasing terms repeatedly, in English, French, and German, these fastidious markings and exact translations leave a trace and a glitch on paper and screen. Much of his existing work includes words and phrases like “tribunal,” “myself when I am real” and “the need to disappear.” Do they identify what forms, systems and sentiments that are, or could be present? Or do they warn of what is to come?
Suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body, Cornelissen’s clouds extend down to the surface, looming over Earth and Terra Nova. But are they harmless clouds, or associated with nuclear explosions? And is that the ash, dust, pollution and detritus of these invented places, the remnants of an unsustainable society, a dream factory? Or the promise of life anew? In weather forecasting, or aeromancy, the presence of clouds can promise darkness and gloom, but they can also bring cleansing.
The ominous aura of the grid, an applied system and structure used by many, including draughtsmen, architects, urban planners, designers and artists to organise and sometimes classify information, is a recurring element in his work. The grid can be observed from a distant bird’s eye view, or close up, allowing Cornelissen’s large format drawings...
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel, Archival Paper, Pencil
Predator Cold Blooded Slogan
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Through processes like transgression, confrontation and hybridization Renato Garza Cervera’s work questions and generates a series of reflections upon contemporary culture and relate...
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Archival Paper
Cloud (Atlantic tropical cyclons 1954-2021)
Located in Montreal, Quebec
“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” ― Albert Einstein.
Always working with graphite and charcoal, Ro...
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Archival Paper, Pencil, Graphite
Swiss Contemporary Art by Olivier Furter - Remembering I
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on paper - Framed 102 x 72 x 3 cm
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil, Paper
Swiss Contemporary Art by Olivier Furter - Île-de-France III
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on linen canvas - Framed 63.8 x 84 x 3.4 cm
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil, Canvas
The Space of Absence
Located in Montreal, Quebec
3 sheets of A-4 sized paper.
“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” ― Albert Einstein.
Always working ...
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Archival Paper, Pencil, Graphite
Korean Contemporary Art by Shin Seung-Hun - Healing Greenland Chunja, Monkey
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink, acrylics, charcoal on Korean Paper
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Acrylic
Korean Contemporary Art by Shin Seung-Hun - Healing Greenland Chunja, The Dog
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink, acrylics, charcoal on Korean Paper
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Acrylic
Korean Contemporary Art by Shin Seung-Hun - Healing Greenland
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink, acrylics, charcoal on Korean Paper
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Acrylic
Korean Contemporary Art by Shin Seung-Hun - Healing Garden Chunja & Animals
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink, acrylics, charcoal on Korean Paper
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Acrylic
Korean Contemporary Art by Shin Seung-Hun - Healing Greenland, Skydiving Chunja
Located in Paris, IDF
Acrylics, oil pastel on canvas
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Acrylic
Korean Contemporary Art by Shin Seung-Hun - Healing Greenland, Teddy Bear
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink, acrylic, charcoal on korean paper
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Acrylic, Charcoal
Illustration Framed on Canvas: 'She Nailed It!'
Located in New York, NY
The murder of John Lennon. The birth of my children. Nixon’s resignation. Brain surgery.
Driven by the desire to express myself, and leave a physical record of my life and times, I’v...
Category
1990s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Canvas, Wood, Color Pencil
Illustration Framed on Canvas: 'Wide-Eyed Babe'
Located in New York, NY
The murder of John Lennon. The birth of my children. Nixon’s resignation. Brain surgery.
Driven by the desire to express myself, and leave a physical record of my life and times, I’v...
Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Canvas, Color Pencil
Illustration Framed on Canvas: 'Glass Menagerie'
Located in New York, NY
The murder of John Lennon. The birth of my children. Nixon’s resignation. Brain surgery.
Driven by the desire to express myself, and leave a physical record of my life and times, I’v...
Category
1990s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Canvas, Wood, Color Pencil
The Cub Book of Trucks. Title Page
By Art Seiden
Located in Miami, FL
Art Seiden was a children's book illustrator in New York City.
Seiden was a members of The Society of Illustrators
Category
1960s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pen, Permanent Marker, Graphite
Georgian Contemporary Art by Ilia Balavadze - 24.40
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink, pen & pigment on paper
Ilia Balavadze is a Georgian artist born in 1968 who lives and works in Tbilisi, Georgia. From 1987 to 1993, he studied the...
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pigment, Pen, Paper, Ink
Cloud (Planet)
Located in Montreal, Quebec
“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” ― Albert Einstein.
Always working with graphite and charcoal, Ro...
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Archival Paper, Pencil, Graphite
Medusa
Located in New York, NY
Medusa, 2014
Graphite on paper
15.75 x 20.1 inches / 40 x 51 cm (framed)
Nikos Kanarelis was born in Athens, Greece in 1975 where he now lives and works. Βetween 1999 and 2004 h...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Graphite
Chinese Contemporary Art by Li Qing-Yan - The Heavenly Maids Scatter Blossoms
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink on handmade paper
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Handmade Paper, Ink
Chinese Contemporary Art by Li Qing-Yan - Youthful Madness
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink on handmade paper
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Handmade Paper, Ink
Chinese Contemporary Art by Li Qing-Yan - Riding Together
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink on handmade paper
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Handmade Paper, Ink
Chinese Contemporary Art by Li Qing-Yan - Girl With a Cat
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink on handmade paper
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Handmade Paper, Ink
Chinese Contemporary Art by Li Qing-Yan - Girl Named as Lily
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink on handmade paper
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Handmade Paper, Ink
Chinese Contemporary Art by Li Qing-Yan - Birds Chirp in The Valley
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink on handmade paper
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Handmade Paper, Ink
Chinese Contemporary Art by Li Qing-Yan - Flying Apsaras Dance
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink on handmade paper
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Handmade Paper, Ink
Background Zahra Zeinali Contemporary drawing girl mask teddy bear dream animal
Located in Paris, FR
Charcoal on paper
Unique work
Hand-signed by the artist
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Charcoal
Swiss Contemporary Art by Zdenka Palkovic - Dépitée
Located in Paris, IDF
Pastel on paper
Framed 85 x 65 cm
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Paste
Swiss Contemporary Art by Zdenka Palkovic - Eclosion
Located in Paris, IDF
Pastel on paper
Framed 85 x 65 cm
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Paste
Georgian Contemporary Art by Nino Eliashvili - Try to Wear Me
Located in Paris, IDF
Watercolor on paper
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Paper
Contemporary figurative drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Contemporary figurative drawings and watercolors available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add figurative drawings and watercolors created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, purple, orange, yellow and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Leo Guida, Luis Miguel Valdes , Reginald K. Gee, and Renato Garza Cervera. Frequently made by artists working with Paper, and Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Contemporary figurative drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 1.25 inches across are also available. Prices for figurative drawings and watercolors made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $60 and tops out at $70,894, while the average work sells for $907.