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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
Unruly Muse - Allegorical Drawing of the Artist in The Studio with Models
Located in Chicago, IL
David Becker b. 1937 David H. Becker, painter, printmaker and educator, was born on August 16, 1937 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He studied at the Milwaukee State Teachers College, the Layton School of Art between 1956 and 1958, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he enrolled in the science curriculum. After a chance meeting with Warrington Colescott, department chair of the art department, Becker decided on a career in art and received his BFA degree in 1961. After graduation he served for two years in the US Army and then entered a graduate studies program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and earned his MFA in 1965. ------- Becker moved to Detroit after receiving his degree and joined the faculty at Wayne State University where he taught life drawing. In 1985 he left Detroit to join the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and he retired from teaching in 2006. His first solo exhibition was mounted in 1968. About 1970 Becker turned most of his attention towards printmaking as he could not paint and create prints during the same period of time and was pulled toward printmaking. He stated that he enjoys “putting images together in an unpredictable fashion.” Becker worked slowly and an etching plate could take up to two years to complete and he ultimately only produced thirteen prints. His etchings were included in the Twenty-fourth National Exhibition of Prints at the Library of Congress in 1975; the Third American Biennial of Graphic Arts at the Museo de Arte Moderno in Cali, Columbia in 1976, winning the gold medal; and Brooklyn Museum National Print Exhibition. His work was included in the Ninth British International Print Biennale in Bradford, England in 1986; the 162nd and 165th Annual at the National Academy of Design in 1987 and 1990. Becker was elected an Associate of the National Academy of Design in 1983 and elevated to full Academician in 1991. He received a Visual Artists Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts which helped him transition back into painting. He also received the University of Wisconsin Chancellor’s Faculty Development Award in the Creative Arts in 1996 and 1999. He is a member of and exhibited with the Boston Printmakers, Society of American Graphic Artists, and the Philadelphia Print Club. In the late 1990's and early aughts, Becker returned to painting and drawing full time. David H. Becker is represented in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Detroit Institute of Arts Museum, and the Smithsonian Museum of American Art. Exhibitions 2017 Figure8, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL Coming Attractions, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Cicago, IL 2012 Eye Teeth Group Show, Paint Creek Center for the Arts, Rochester, MI 2011 Art Chicago 2011, Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL 2010 Art Chicago 2010, Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL 2009 David Becker Retrospective, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL Art Chicago 2009, Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL The 184th Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Art, National Academy Museum, NYC Selections, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2008 Art Chicago 2008, Represented by Ann Nathan Gallery, Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL 2007 Unruly Muse, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL SOFA NY (Sculptural Objects Functional Art), Ann Nathan Gallery, 7th Regiment Armory, NY, NY Art Chicago, Merchandise Mart, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2006 Palm Beach³, Ann Nathan Gallery, Palm Beach, FL 2005 SOFA NY (Sculptural Objects Functional Art), Ann Nathan Gallery, 7th Regiment Armory, NY, NY Art Chicago in the Park, Butler Field, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL Palm Beach³, Ann Nathan Gallery, Palm Beach, FL 2004 Contemporary Prints: National Academy Museum Collection, National Academy of Design, NYC Art Chicago 2004, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL Fantastic & Visionary Art, touring exhibit: Orange, Manning, Riddoch, & Ballart Gallery, Australia Return of the Men, Peltz Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2003 Art Chicago 2003, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL Fantastic & Visionary Art, touring exhibit: Orange Regional Gallery, New South Wales, Australia National Academy of Design 178th Annual Exhibition, NY, NY 2002 Art Chicago 2002, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL Art of the 20th Century, Ann Nathan Gallery, Park Ave. Armory, NY, NY Outsider Art Fair, The Puck Building @ Houston & Lafayette Sts., NYC Self and Other Portraits, Wisconsin Artists, Charles Allis Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI Return of the Men, Peltz Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2001 Beyond the 50's, May 4 - July 1, Exhibit A, A Gallery of Art & Design, Birmingham, Michigan Outsider Art Fair, January 26-28, The Puck Building @ Houston & Lafayette Sts., NYC "FANTASTIC ART", April/May, Orange Regional Gallery, Orange NSW, Australia. David Becker: Etchings and Engravings, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, solo exhibition of prints, February. 2000 Four person exhibition, Columbus State University, Columbus, Georgia, Oct. 31 - Nov. 27, 2000. 1999 National Academy 174th Annual Exhibition, NY University of Wisconsin-Madison Faculty, Elvehjem Museum of Art, Madison, WI Treasures Revealed: 19th and 20th Century American Works on Paper, National Academy, NY 1995 Bharat Bhavan International Biennial of Prints, Bhopal, India Contemporary Prints, Selections from John Szoke Gallery, NYC, Drew University, Madison, NJ Collection Update, 1994, National Academy of Design Museum, NY 1994 David Becker and Robert Sholties, Peconic Gallery, Suffolk Community College, Riverhead, NY In Black and White: Works by Four Printmakers, Atrium Gallery, University of Connecticut, Storrs Aesthetics of Athletics: Sports, Games, and Exercise, Charles A. Wustum Musem, Racine, WI GMI IX Award Winners, Art Center Gallery, Central Missouri State University, Warrensburg 1993 Take Home a Nude benefit auction, NY Academy of Art Graduate School Of Figurative Art, NY 1993 American Prints: Last Half 20th Century, Jane Haslem Gallery, Washingtion, DC Outstanding American Prints, Anderson Arts Center, Kenosha,WI National Academy of Design 168th Annual Exhibition, NY David Becker: Etchings, Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA Portraits, Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA 1992 The Print Fair, 7th Regiment Armory, NY 1991 166th Annual Exhibition, National Academy of Design, NY Alma College Collection, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan Modes of Expression, Potsdam College, SUNY, Potsdam, NY 1990 With Nothing On, Prints and Drawings of the Nude, New Orleans Museum of Art, LA Prints by Printmakers, Staller Art Center, SUNY-Stonybrook, NY Publications/Reviews 2007 November 60 Years of North American Prints: 1947-2007, Boston U. Art Gallery, Boston, MA 2003 July 11 Isthmus, Madison, “Welcome to My Nightmare,” by Robert Cozzolino. 2001 March 14 The Wall Street Journal, "Time Off: A Week of Diversions." Review of Progressive Printmakers (LVM) exhibition. 2001 February Isthmus, Madison, "America's Printland," by Jennifer Smith. 2001 February Capital Times, "The Crowned Prints," by Kevin Lynch. 1999 July Progressive Printmakers: Wisconsin Artists & the Print Renaissance. 1995 – 1999 Who’s Who in America. 1993 Summer The Journal of the Print World, review. March 14 The New York Times, review. March 12 The Daily Oklahoman, review. 1990 Dec. 13 The Capital Times, review. April 28 The Washingtion Post, review. March 25 The New York Times, review. Summer The Journal of the Print World, review. Selected Collections - additional collections available on requestArkansas Arts Center Foundation, Little Rock, AR Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL Brooklyn Museum, NYC Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit, MI Elvehjem Museum of Art, U of Wisconson-Madison Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu, HI Library of Congress, Washington, DC Metropolitan Museum, Miami, FL Museo de Arte Moderno, Cali, Columbia National Academy, NY, NY National Museum of American Art, Washington, DC New York Public Library, NY Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, MA United States Information Agency, Prague, Czech. Alberta College of Art, Alberta, Canada Albion College, Albion, MI Alma College, Alma, MI Art Center, South Bend, IN AT&T Corporate HQ, Plainfield, NJ Boston Printmakers, Boston, MA Bradley University, Peoria, IL Columbia Green Community College, Hudson, NY Columbus State University, Columbus, GA Davidson College, Davidson, NC Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA Georgia State University – Atlanta Hope College, Holland, MI Hunterdon Art Center, Clinton, NJ Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS Madison Art Center, Madison, WI Marui Imai Inc., Sapporo, Japan Milwaukee Art Center, Milwaukee, WI Minot Art Association, Minot, ND North Carolina Print/Drawing Society, Charlotte, NC North Texas State University – Denton Ohio University – Athens Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City, OK Oklahoma State University, OK Quad Graphics, Milwaukee, WI Silvermine Guild of Arts, New Canaan, CT Springfield College, Springfield, MA St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY State University of New York – Fredonia State University of New York – Potsdam Trenton State College, Trenton, NJ University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ University of Colorado-Boulder University of Dallas, TX University of Louisville, Louisville, KN University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada University of North Dakota – Grand Forks University of South Dakota – Vermillion University of Tennesse – Knoxville West Chester State College, West Chester, PA Western Kentucky University – Bowling Green Private Collections Carla Leighton, New York, NY Marc Hauser...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Charcoal, Archival Paper

"Stare At Me" Mixed Media Drawing
Located in Chicago, IL
Kent Williams’ work melds the rigor of technical prowess with the iconoclast’s impulse to disrupt. Juxtaposing beautifully rendered classical forms with elements of abstraction and s...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Mixed Media

Belvedere for children - Book illustration, Polish artist, Watercolor painting
Located in Warsaw, PL
Illustration for book by Michał Rusinek 'Belvedere for children' JOANNA RUSINEK Printmaker, illustrator of children's books, author of press ill...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Pencil

Back View
Located in Deddington, GB
Daniel Ludwig is an American figurative artist who lives and works in Brooklyn, NY and Berkley. His original piece of artwork pictured above is called 'Back View' and this work of ar...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Charcoal

Love is Love, 2021
Located in Westport, CT
Ayse Wilson is a Turkish-American artist who lives and lives and works in Connecticut. Her work draws from memory and emotion to remind viewers of youth, innocence and the timeless space we occupy when we are young. She creates lively and childlike characters, finding inspiration in the works of early Italian Renaissance masters such as Fra Angelico. Wilson graduated from Wellesley College in 1991, and pursued her education in Florence. She received her MFA at New York Academy of Art, and later worked as a painting assistant to Jeff Koons for two years. This current series employs the toile wallpaper samples that the artist had lying around her house during lockdown as a backdrop for ambiguous and complicated feelings toward quarantine and domestic confinement. In this work, she is hoping to narrate how fear of the pandemic unknown, coupled with household anxieties, and increased self-awareness contributed to the mixed emotions of security and hostility towards enforced domesticity within a masked world. The toile tradition represented a coincidental parallel with the COVID era rediscovery of old-fashioned pastoral lifestyles, and the embrace of self-reliant artisanal practices like cooking, gardening, sewing, and prescribed homeschooling. Her colorful inscriptions, some original, some appropriated, layer in our contemporary lifestyle, our modern methods of connectivity as well as our high-tech world. The punky playfulness of the neon and fluorescents contrasts with the backdrop of Fragonard-esque imagery and hopes to delivery her messages of love and connection, awareness and newness, hope and emotions, as well as the occasional glossily veiled hostility expressed in certain so-called “love” declarations. The phrases evolved from a previous series addressing the Me Too movement...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Acrylic

"The birth of Venus" by Anna Pennati, pastel on black cardboard, greek mythology
Located in Milano, MI
This artwork is part of the series that Anna Pennati has dedicated to Homer's Odyssey, a subject very dear to her and one that she has tackled several times in the past. Venus has b...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Oil Pastel

"Persephone" by Anna Pennati, pastel on black cardboard, greek mythology
Located in Milano, MI
This artwork is part of the series that Anna Pennati has dedicated to Homer's Odyssey, a subject very dear to her and one that she has tackled several times in the past. is the daug...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Oil Pastel

Various Studies of Figures on a Boat, Paul Cadmus Sketch on Paper
Located in New York, NY
Various Studies of Figures on a Boat, Paul Cadmus Sketch on Paper. Graphite on paper 6 x 8.5 inches This work is offered by CLAMP in New York City...
Category

1940s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Graphite

"Eyes Wide Open" drawing by Hiroshi Hayakawa
Located in Chicago, IL
Hiroshi Hayakawa was born and raised in Japan. He earned a BA in French Literature from Keio University in Tokyo. After a short stint working as a computer systems engineer, he decided his love of life was making art. He relocated to the United States in 1991, attended Columbus College of Art and Design earning BFAs in Photography and Fine Arts, and then Cranbrook Academy of Art for his MFA in Photography. He expresses his artistic vision in several mediums including drawing, painting, kinetic sculpture, alternative photography and paper crafts. In recent years, he has been more focused on drawing, working on a series entitled "Vanitas". He is an author of 4 papercraft books: "Kirigami Menagerie" (2009), "Paper Pups" (2011), "Paper Birds" (2014) and "Paper Monsters...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Graphite

"Airness" (FRAMED) Pencil Drawing 22" x 19" inch by Antonio Pelayo
Located in Culver City, CA
"Airness" (FRAMED) Pencil Drawing 22" x 19" inch by Antonio Pelayo Medium: Pencil on Paper Artist Antonio Pelayo, born in Glendale, California, and yet raised for most of his child...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pencil

Female Portrait - Drawing - 1965
Located in Roma, IT
Female Portrait is a modern artwork realized in 1965. Mixed colored drawing on paper. Signature and date on the lower margin. 
Category

1960s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper

Posing for the Artist by Judith Williams black and white ballerina on paper
Located in Atlanta, GA
"The unusual shapes coming together in their raw simplistic form, how they interact with each other, the shapes creating their own language. I let them stand alone in their purest fo...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Charcoal, Mixed Media

"Wanderer 12" Collaged Houses in Decay with Acrylic and Graphite on Wood
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This piece, titled "Wanderer 12" is an original artwork by Seth Clark as part of his newest solo exhibition, "Passing Through". made of collage, charcoal, pastel, acrylic, and graphi...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Wood, Charcoal, Pastel, Acrylic, Graphite

"Orlando"
Located in Astoria, NY
Ramon Unzueta (Cuban/Spanish, 1962-2012), "Orlando", Gouache on Paper, 2009, signed and dated lower right, black lacquered wood frame. Image: 16.25" H x 11.25" W; frame: 27" H x 22.5...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Story of a sheep - 21st Century Contemporary Charcoal Drawing of a sheep
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
Rosanna Gaddoni (Italian artist) Story of a sheep 65 x 50 cm ( framed in wood frame with museum glass) Measurement with included frame: 76 x 60 x 3 cm Charcoal on Paper The Italian ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Charcoal

Episodic disturbances #2 Hélène Duclos 21st Century drawing art landscape red
Located in Paris, FR
This drawing is part of the current exhibition entitled "The fantastic story of the liquid mountain" at Claire Corcia Gallery in Paris. The liquid mountain is populated by living be...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Gouache, Graphite

Still Life - Drawing by Carlo Ravagnan - 1964
Located in Roma, IT
Watercolor on heavy paper realized by Carlo Ravagnan in 1964. Hand signed lower left. Dateg in pencil on rear. Excellent condition.
Category

1960s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

"Region Nine Walkers, " Oil Pastel on Grocery Bag by Reginald K. Gee
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Region Nine Walkers" is an original oil pastel drawing on a grocery bag by Reginald K. Gee. The artist signed the piece lower right and dated it on the back. It features two blue fi...
Category

1990s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Oil Pastel, Found Objects

"Nude with Pattern" Mixed Media Drawing
Located in Chicago, IL
Kent Williams’ work melds the rigor of technical prowess with the iconoclast’s impulse to disrupt. Juxtaposing beautifully rendered classical forms with elements of abstraction and s...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Mixed Media

"Correct" - Figurative drawing on paper with text
Located in East Quogue, NY
Original mixed media work on paper by Adam Baranello. Mixed media, acrylic, spray paint on canvas. Size 17 x 14 in. Offered unframed. Ships rolled Multidisciplinary artist Adam Ba...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Oil Pastel, Ink, Mixed Media, Spray Paint, Acrylic

Armenian Contemporary Art by Kamsar Ohanyan - Under the Snow
Located in Paris, IDF
White pen on grey paper Size without passe-partout: 23 x 17 cm
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pen, Paper

Baobab N7 by Calo Carratalá - Work on paper, graphite drawing, trees, Africa
Located in Paris, FR
Baobab N7 is a unique graphite on paper Arches 360 gr, mounted on wood frame drawing by contemporary artist Calo Carratalá, dimensions are 46 × 65 cm (18.1 × 25.6 in). Dimensions of ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Graphite, Wood

Portrait - Original Pencil and Pen Drawing by S. Goldberg - Mid 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Woman is an original drawing in pencil and pen on paper realized by Simon Goldberg (1913-1985). Hand-signed on the lower right. The state of preservation is very good. Sheet dimens...
Category

Mid-20th Century Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil, Pen

French Contemporary Art by Emeline Piot - CINQC
Located in Paris, IDF
Staedtler pencil & acrylic on canvas
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Acrylic, Pencil, Canvas

UNTITLED (TWO HEADS)
Located in Aventura, FL
Original conte crayon on paper. Dated "12.84" lower margin. Provenance: Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York. Artwork size 12.5 x 9.5 inches. Fram...
Category

1980s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Crayon

UNTITLED (TWO HEADS)
UNTITLED (TWO HEADS)
$27,600 Sale Price
20% Off
Running Men
Located in London, GB
Graphite and coloured pencil on paper, signed and dated (lower right), 36cm x 44cm, (45cm x 53cm framed). The picture is behind museum quality non-reflective UV glass. Throughout h...
Category

1990s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Carbon Pencil, Color Pencil, Paper

Wolf, are you there #1 ? Hélène Duclos Contemporary art drawing green nature
Located in Paris, FR
Gouache and pencil on paper Unique work Hand-signed and entitled lower right by the artist
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Gouache, Pencil

Woman at Piano, Watercolor Painting by Erik Freyman
Located in Long Island City, NY
Woman at Piano by Erik Freyman, Russian/American (1932–2018) Date: circa 1989 Watercolor on Paper, signed in pencil Size: 29 x 21.5 in. (73.66 x 54.61 cm)
Category

1980s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Sweat Band #3, Charcoal Drawing, Bust of a Man Wearing a Sweat Band
Located in Chicago, IL
Human facial expressions help convey our stories from one person to another. However, David Becker presents this charcoal drawing with a flair for confusion. Throughout his career,...
Category

1990s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Charcoal, Archival Paper

The Crow - Pencil Drawing by Leo Guida - 1972
Located in Roma, IT
The Crow is an original Contemporary artwork realized in 1972 by the italian artist Leo Guida. Original Drawing. Dated and Hand-signed in pencil on the lower right margin: Leo Guid...
Category

1970s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pencil

The Running Man - Original Drawing by Anthony Roaland - 1980s
Located in Roma, IT
The Running Man is an original drawing in pencil realized by Anthony Roaland. The artwork represents a fresh and beautiful nude male. Behind the landscape is depicted with simple an...
Category

1980s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

Woman at Rest, Nude Female, Pastel and Charcoal Drawing on Green Paper
Located in Chicago, IL
The loose style of this drawing comes together quickly to convey the relaxed state of this nude female. The pastel accents bring a beautiful warmth to this drawing. Christopher Ganz Woman at Rest, 2013 pastel and charcoal on green paper 23h x 18w in 58.42h x 45.72w cm CG0062 -ARTIST STATEMENT- I depict my person in multiplicity with different selves representing dramatis personae. My likeness is both implicit and symbolic in the portrayal of my narrative; the drama involved in creating art and the artist’s role in society. I use realism to invite the viewer into mysterious inner worlds that are layered reflections of the outer. Dehumanizing environments are imbued with art historical references as a critique of power structures. The artist is an Everyman who is at odds with society and his self. Visually my work is a celebration of society’s dark undercurrents and its overlooked absurdities. I use charcoal and printmaking media as their tenebrous values add a fitting metaphor. The nuances of light and shadow seduce viewers into a world their better judgment would have them avoid. This provokes a sense of disquietude that causes viewers to assess our world through the austerity of a colorless, yet not humorless, light. -BIO- Christopher Ganz grew up in Northeast Ohio and from early on had a fertile imagination and an interest in art. Christopher's artistic education truly began at the University of Missouri, where his love of the human form led to many figure drawing classes and his exposure to the wonders of printmaking. Christopher's then went onto graduate school at Indiana University and a summer abroad program in Italy was a dream realized. Christopher then grasped charcoal with a renewed vigor and large, sfumato-laden drawings ensued. Christopher's artistic influences are many; from a seminal exposure to Dore's engravings of the Divine Comedy, to Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Goya, and up to Lucian Freud, Mark Tansey...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Charcoal, Pastel

Disappearances / Extinctions #1 Hélène Duclos 21st Century drawing landscape art
Located in Paris, FR
This drawing is part of the current exhibition entitled "The fantastic story of the liquid mountain" at Claire Corcia Gallery in Paris. The liquid mountain is populated by living be...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Gouache, Color Pencil, Graphite

Georgian Contemporary Art by Nina Narimanishvili - Kiss
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink & acrylic on paper
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Acrylic, Ink, Paper

Ghost - 21st Century Contemporary Charcoal Drawing of a kitten
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
Rosanna Gaddoni (Italian artist) Gohst 42 x 33 cm ( framed in wood frame with museum glass) Measurement with included frame: 52 x 42 x 3 cm Charcoal on Paper The Italian artist Rosa...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Charcoal

'Abstraction #56' - abstract painting - colorful oil on linen
Located in Atlanta, GA
"Abstraction #56" is a colorful abstract painting featuring hues of blue, mauve, green and red. The framed dimensions are 11 by 13 inches. Eilis Crean is inspired by the works of Honoré-Victorin Daumier, Evie Hone, Patrick Pye, Milton Avery, William Kentridge, Joan Snyder, Jennifer Bartlett, Judy Pfaff and Sarah Sze...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Acrylic, Archival Paper

Rose Tattoo, Original Drawing by Luis Jimenez
Located in Phoenix, AZ
SHIPPING FEES INCLUDE SHIPPING CHARGE, PACKAGING & **INSURANCE** Rose Tattoo Luis Alfonso Jimenez 1940-2006 Color pencil on Arches paper 22 x 30.25 inches Provenance: The original drawing was owned by Rozanne Charington, companion and model for "Rodeo Queen", "Rose Tattoo" and "Jimenez at Adeliza's Candy Store". An original Drawing by Luis Jimenez, 1983, 22 x 30.25 inches. A stone lithograph edition was made from this drawing. There was a PBS documentary showing Jimenez drawing on the stone with the drawing in front of him and the making of the lithograph with Sette Publishing. Luis Alfonso Jimenez Born, 1940, El Paso, Texas, died 2006, Hondo, New Mexico. Statement: Luis Jimenez, in his work, celebrates the vitality of life. . . . Jimenez es un hijo de la frontera; he knows its people and the landscape. It is the transformation of these people into art that is his most important contribution to the art of this vast region which stretches between Mexico and the United States. His subject matter utilizes the popular images of the cultura del norte, and a large part of it is depicted and transformed in the rough and tumble world of la frontera. He is also a son of el norte, and so he uses its materials and explores its emerging, popular myths. The tension and attraction of Jimnez’s work is that he always creates within the space of his two worlds, the Mexicano and the Americano. He constantly shows us the irony of the two forces which repel, while showing us glimpses of the synthesis he seeks. What a gift it has been to us for this talented artist to reflect on the soul of our region. He gives meaning to our existence and history. Rudolfo Anaya (passage chosen by the artist), A View from La Frontera, Man on Fire: Luis Jimnez, pp. 1, 3, 6Biography: Luis Jimnez was born in Texas to parents who had emigrated from Mexico to the United States; he would later dedicate his 1989 sculpture Border Crossing to his father, who had entered the country illegally. The elder Jimnez was a neon sign designer in El Paso, and Luis worked with him as a youth. His experience working in the neon shop and his fascination with U.S. car culture would both become major influences on his art career. Jimenez studied architecture at the University of Texas, Austin (UTA), and also took art courses in which he first created sculptures with wood, steel, and fiberglass, choosing the latter because of its association with U.S. popular culture. He subsequently became one of the artists who made fiberglass an acceptable medium in the 1960s. In 1964 Jimenez received his B.S. in art from UTA, and he continued his studies at the Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mexico in Mexico City. In 1966 he moved to New York City and worked as an assistant to sculptor Seymour Lipton. Jimnez began to exhibit his art while in New York and in 1972 moved to New Mexico to focus on creating public sculptures, even as he maintained his diverse output of drawings, prints, and lithographs. Drawing on his early experiences, Jimnez creates works that come from a border perspective, one that draws upon the hybridity bred by culture clashes. Often socially and politically informed, his works speak not only in regional terms, those germane to the southwestern United States, but to broader, more global issues as well. They exhibit a profoundly Chicano aesthetic and sensibility, one that is informed by Mexican and Mexican American traditions, North American popular culture, Chicano cultural icons, and images and themes unique to the Southwest. Death, sexuality, and the struggle of the common people are frequent themes. Inspired by authors who write in an autobiographical style, Jimnez creates works that function as personal narrative yet are also able to make statements about culture in more global terms. His use of bold colors and lines, a legacy from his fathers work as a neon sign maker, lends a dynamic sensuality to his work, one that is particularly evident in his monumental fiberglass and acrylic urethane sculptural works Many of Jimnezs works correspond to scholar Toms Ybarra-Fraustos definition of the Chicano aesthetic of rasquachismo, a lowbrow sensibility that appeals to the working class in that it applies to objects that subvert expressions of the mainstream or dominant culture. Creating art that speaks to the people, Jimnez is able to transform regional and culturally specific myths and symbols into globally recognized and relevant icons. Exhibitions: In addition to his personal work, Jimnez has been commissioned for numerous public art projects. In 1999 his sculpture Southwest Piet was designated a National Treasure by First Lady Hillary Clinton. The many exhibitions featuring his work have included Human Concern/Personal Torment (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 1969). The First International Motorcycle Art Show (Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ, 1973). Three Texas Artists (Centre Cultural Americaine, USIS, Paris, 1977), Recent Trends in Collecting (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 1982). Committed to Print (Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1989) Printmaking in Texas: The 1980s (Modern Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX. Laguna Gloria Art Museum, Austin, 1990. The Whitney Biennial (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 1991) Man On Fire: Luis Jimnez (Albuquerque Museum of Art, NM, 1994-95). 47th Annual Purchase Exhibition (American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, 1995). Traveling solo exhibition, Working Class Heroes: Images from the Popular Culture (1997-2000). Jiménez Collier Gallery has been in continuous operation for over 40 years. Originally located just off Main Street in downtown Scottsdale, Arizona, we have moved to Phoenix to accommodate and showcase our large inventory including: • Original works by Maynard Dixon, Lon Megargee, Ed Mell, Fritz Scholder, Bill Schenck, Bill Lesch, Luis Jimenez, Greg Singley, Dan Budnik, and other 20th century Western, WPA and Contemporary Southwestern artists. • The Fine Art Estate of Lon Megargee • Vintage rodeo photography...
Category

1980s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Mixed Media, Color Pencil

Donna Sdraiata - Pastel by Aurelio Bulzatti - 2009
Located in Roma, IT
Donna Sdraiata is an original drawing realized by the Italian contemporary artist Aurelio Bulzatti in 2009. The drawing is a unique piece pastel on p...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pastel

Figurative/Portrait/Abstract_Ink on Paper_America Martin, Woman Rests on Clover
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
America Martin "Woman Rests on Clover" Acrylic on Paper 11.25 x 30 in. 17 x 36 in. Framed AMERICA MARTIN is an internationally represented Colombian-American fine artist based in L...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Handmade Paper, Ink

Timeless Beauty by Judith Williams black and white nude on paper
Located in Atlanta, GA
"The unusual shapes coming together in their raw simplistic form, how they interact with each other, the shapes creating their own language. I let them stand alone in their purest fo...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Charcoal, Mixed Media

Georgian Contemporary Art by Maria Vanishvili - N555
Located in Paris, IDF
Acrylic, watercolour, marker & ink on paper Maria Vanishvili is a Georgian artist born in 2004 who lives and works in Tbilisi, Georgia. She signa her...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Paper, Acrylic, Watercolor, Permanent Marker

I Only Have Eyes For You, Nudes, Graphite Drawing, Framed
Located in Chicago, IL
Jane Birch I Only Have Eyes for You graphite on paper 8h x 9w in 13h x 16w in framed 20.32h x 22.86w cm JAB006 My drawings are lovingly objectifying. I’m an alien researcher, and my...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Archival Paper, Graphite

Geoffrey Holder
Located in Saint Louis, MO
Antonio Pippolini Geoffrey Holder 11 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches Framed Dimensions: 14 1/4 x 10 3/4 inches (36.2 x 27.3 cm)
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper

French Contemporary Art by Liubov Juravliova - Fille
Located in Paris, IDF
Watercolour, ink on paper Liubov Juravliova is a French painter born in Chisinau, Moldova in 1963 who lives and works in Argenteuil, near Paris, France She has been listed at Drouot...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Paper, Watercolor

Whispers & Hisses Series: 'In Knowing'
Located in New York, NY
This series was inspired by a 1950’s era instruction manual found while clearing out my father’s basement workshop. The How To Light A Model manual employed voluptuous female models to teach lighting techniques to amateur photographers such as my father. Diagrams plot the prescribed direction of the lights. The nude women hold the pose, their lips bright red and their feet dirty from the studio floor. As naked props for the authoritarian photographer, their vulnerability seems palpable. This work visualizes the human condition as a balance between feral and fabricated worlds. Vivid, oversized creatures embody instinctual energy. Wax seals, gold spheres and text-like marks signify rational structures. One speaks in a whisper, the other in a hiss. Winifred McNeill...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Gold Leaf

Drawing, Pastel, Ink And Colored Pencils. "The Unseen"
Located in Bogotá, Bogotá
Pastel, Pencil, petal flowers, Color and Ink on Paper. The base of this drawing is Fabriano paper of 120g /m2. I use natural dyes of flowers, herbs, leaves, bark of trees as the fir...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pastel, Ink, Pencil, Color Pencil

"Wanderer Study 3" Aged Architecture in Charcoal, Ink and Collaged Painting
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This piece, titled "Wanderer Study 3" is an original artwork by Seth Clark as part of his newest solo exhibition, "Passing Through". made of collage, charcoal, pastel, acrylic, and g...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Wood, Paper, Charcoal, Pastel, Acrylic, Graphite

"Self Portrait In NY, 20th St., " Gouache, Ink & Pastel signed by Dan Muller
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Self Portrait in N.Y., 20th St." is an original gouache, ink, and pastel drawing by Dan Muller. The artist signed the piece lower right. This artwork features a seated, abstracted f...
Category

1980s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pastel, Ink, Gouache

"Fear Not; Only Believe" Watercolor & Gouache on paper signed by Reginald K. Gee
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Fear Not; Only Believe" is an original watercolor and gouache painting by Reginald K. Gee. The artist signed and dated the artwork lower right. It depicts two people walking through...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache

Casino Off Exit 6 - Graphite Drawing, Framed
Located in Chicago, IL
Jane Birch Casino Off Exit Six graphite on paper 8.50h x 5.50w in 21.59h x 13.97w cm 15h x 11.75w in framed JAB012 My drawings are lovingly objectifying. I’m an alien researcher, an...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Archival Paper, Graphite

Eros - Greek Goddess of Love, Sex and Desire, Graphite Drawing, Framed
Located in Chicago, IL
Jane Birch Eros graphite on paper 5.50h x 8.50w in 13.97h x 21.59w cm 13h x 16w in framed JAB013 My drawings are lovingly objectifying. I’m an alien researcher, and my subject, hum...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Archival Paper, Graphite

Wave Series/Tattooed Woman at Sunset Beach
Located in Palm Desert, CA
"Wave Series/Tattooed Woman at Sunset Beach" is a unique watercolor utilizing Edo-period imagery by contemporary, Japanese artist, Masami Teraoka. The framed artwork measures 22 1/2 x 17 1/2 x 1 in. This work is an example of Teraoka's icon of cross-cultural exchange as a submersible yet insuppressible individual, striking out on her own with rented snorkel equipment. Her traditional wave-pattern tattoos and resemblance to a Hokusai pearl diver are time-honored devices recognizable from Edo-era ukiyo-e, but here they are the mark of a very up-to-date woman of the world-and a sign of things to come. "In my mind tattoos were taboo, because we associated tattoos with yakuza gangsters in Japan then," the artist explains. "Those were the only people in Japan who had tattoos, to show off their machismo. So when I saw tattoos in this country, it seemed to me to be a really significant attitude that Americans are not really uptight about having tattoos. Thirty years later, tattoos are invading Japan. Young people have them on their arms, so they can cover them with long­sleeved shirts. Perhaps they try to hide them from their parents, but the younger generation is much more open to tattoos and piercings." Born in Onomichi in Hiroshima Prefecture, Teraoka studied at what is now Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. His works are inspired by Japanese Ukiyo-e woodcut prints. However, Teraoaka infuses the style and techniques of the traditional art with American Pop Art. The mass-produced nature of Japanese woodcut prints...
Category

1980s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Market in Paris - Drawing by Carlo Ravagnan - 1970s
Located in Roma, IT
Watercolor on heavy paper realized by Carlo Ravagnan in 1970s. Hand signed lower left. Excellent condition. Carlo Ravagnan was born in Udine on September 4, 1911, died in Venice i...
Category

1970s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

"Out on a Limb"/"Tortoise & The Hare, " Double-sided Ink signed by David Barnett
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Out on a Limb" is an original ink drawing with a second side, titled "Tortoise & the Hare," both by David Barnett. It is signed on the lower right verso. On the front side, a bearded lady stands on a tree branch in front of a sidewalk and a children's mobile. The back features a sketch of the tortoise and hare...
Category

1960s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink

Georgian Contemporary Art by Nina Narimanishvili - I Found the Flower
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink & pencil on paper Nina Narimanishvili is a Georgian artist born in 1999 who lives and works in Tbilisi, Georgia. Nina has been painting since childhood and over time her interes...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil, Paper

Black and white still life flower drawing of Mimosas by artist, Yvon Pissarro
Located in London, GB
Mimosas by Yvon Pissarro (b. 1937) Graphite on paper 65 x 50 cm (25 ⅝ x 19 ⅝ inches) Signed and dated lower left Yvon Vey 2002 Provenance Studio of the artist, Montpellier Artist b...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Graphite

French Contemporary Art by Liubov Juravliova - Création de Mode
Located in Paris, IDF
Watercolour, ink on paper Liubov Juravliova is a French painter born in Chisinau, Moldova in 1963 who lives and works in Argenteuil, near Paris, France She has been listed at Drouot...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Paper, Watercolor

View of Venice - Drawing by Carlo Ravagnan - 1970s
Located in Roma, IT
Watercolor on heavy paper realized by Carlo Ravagnan in 1970s. Hand signed  lower right. Excellent condition. Carlo Ravagnan was born in Udine on September 4, 1911, died in Venice...
Category

1970s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Yves in Tangier. From the Fashion series
Located in Miami Beach, FL
The artist has covered New York collections for over 16 years and has interviewed, as a journalist, several fashion designers and personalities for different publications. He loves t...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Gouache, Acrylic

Comme des Garcons and Louis XV Tries on Shoes, Diptych. From The Fashion Series
Located in Miami Beach, FL
The artist has covered New York collections for over 16 years and has interviewed, as a journalist, several fashion designers and personalities for different publications. He loves t...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Watercolor, Pen

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.

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