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Contemporary Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

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
Color:  White
Human Tides (Conflicts II) #11
Located in Montreal, Quebec
When does a line on a page become figurative? The series of drawings by Mexican artist Renato Garza Cervera entitled Mareas Humanas (Conflictos II) / Human Tides (Conflicts II) satis...
Category

2010s Contemporary Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

India Ink, Archival Paper

Needle Gun
Located in New Orleans, LA
Luis Cruz Azaceta is a Cuban American painter. Since the late 1970s, his paintings and drawings have been taking the moral and ethical pulse of Cuba. For Azaceta, art is not a vehicl...
Category

2010s Contemporary Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Ink, Paper

Flow
Located in New Orleans, LA
medium: graphite and embroidered thread on primed linen Monica Zeringue received her MFA from the University of New Orleans in 2006, and her BA in 1993. In 1999 she was awarded th...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Untitled from the series Shifty Packets
Located in Montreal, Quebec
What happens when the digital and analog duke it out? Who would win in this match: the printing press versus a high-speed internet connection? Or do we have to choose? What happens w...
Category

2010s Contemporary Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink

Glisten
Located in New Orleans, LA
medium: graphite and hand-sewn Swarovski crystals on primed linen Monica Zeringue received her MFA from the University of New Orleans in 2006, and her BA in 1993. In 1999 she was ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

White - abstract textural white geometric hand cut layered paper
Located in New York, NY
Huntz Liu Layered hand cut paper 24" x 18" 2016 Huntz Liu hand carved and layered paper artworks somehow look like colorful archeological digs or exposed complex systems. He w...
Category

2010s Contemporary Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Archival Paper

Human Tides (Conflicts II) #2
Located in Montreal, Quebec
When does a line on a page become figurative? The series of drawings by Mexican artist Renato Garza Cervera entitled Mareas Humanas (Conflictos II) / Human Tides (Conflicts II) satis...
Category

2010s Contemporary Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

India Ink, Archival Paper

Human Tides (Conflicts II) #6
Located in Montreal, Quebec
When does a line on a page become figurative? The series of drawings by Mexican artist Renato Garza Cervera entitled Mareas Humanas (Conflictos II) / Human Tides (Conflicts II) satis...
Category

2010s Contemporary Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

India Ink, Archival Paper

Human Tides (Conflicts II) #23
Located in Montreal, Quebec
When does a line on a page become figurative? The series of drawings by Mexican artist Renato Garza Cervera entitled Mareas Humanas (Conflictos II) / Human Tides (Conflicts II) satis...
Category

2010s Contemporary Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

India Ink, Archival Paper

Human Tides (Conflicts II) #21
Located in Montreal, Quebec
When does a line on a page become figurative? The series of drawings by Mexican artist Renato Garza Cervera entitled Mareas Humanas (Conflictos II) / Human Tides (Conflicts II) satis...
Category

2010s Contemporary Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

India Ink, Archival Paper

Human Tides (Conflicts II) #29
Located in Montreal, Quebec
When does a line on a page become figurative? The series of drawings by Mexican artist Renato Garza Cervera entitled Mareas Humanas (Conflictos II) / Human Tides (Conflicts II) satis...
Category

2010s Contemporary Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

India Ink, Archival Paper

Human Tides (Conflicts II) #29
Located in Montreal, Quebec
When does a line on a page become figurative? The series of drawings by Mexican artist Renato Garza Cervera entitled Mareas Humanas (Conflictos II) / Human Tides (Conflicts II) satis...
Category

2010s Contemporary Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

India Ink, Archival Paper

Celestial Navigation
Located in New York, NY
watercolor on paper available unframed Broadbent has shown extensively throughout the U.S. as well as internationally. Broadbent’s numerous solo exhibitions include the Visual Ar...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Sea - abstract geometric textural soft color hand cut paper
Located in New York, NY
Huntz Liu hand carved and layered paper artworks somehow look like colorful archeological digs or exposed complex systems. He works in a subtractive way, where he builds up a surface...
Category

2010s Contemporary Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Archival Paper

Margot Glass, Envelope with Yellow Shadow, Watercolor and pencil still life
Located in New York, NY
Margot Glass explores the fragility of communication, and people’s natural drive to find narrative in even the most ordinary of objects. In her E...
Category

2010s Contemporary Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Watercolor, Illustration Board

RIC: Random Internet Cat #8
Located in New York, NY
Random Internet Cats 
Robotically-fabricated drawings on paper, these series formally deal with mediation from screen image to ‘drawing’ while using a computer-controlled pen plotte...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Archival Paper, Archival Ink

Haiku to a star playing with Miro
Located in Fairfield, CT
Category

Contemporary Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Two More for Joy, Jane Peart, Contemporary digital drawing, Animal art
Located in Deddington, GB
Two more for Joy by Jane Peart [2021] limited_edition and hand signed by the artist Digital drawing on paper Edition number 100 Image size: H:35 cm x W:24 cm Complete Size of Unfram...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Digital, Paper

Untitled (Seated Nude Male Facing Left)
Located in New York, NY
Conté and colored pencil on paper 20.75 x 14.5 inches Contact gallery for price. This work is offered by CLAMP in New York City.
Category

20th Century Contemporary Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Conté, Color Pencil

"A Home for All with Yellow Roof" Contemporary Abstract Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Baltimore, MD
"A Home for All with Yellow Roof" is a framed acrylic painting on canvas by Aron Hill, depicting abstract shapes in yellow, red, and blue on raw canvas. The carefully composed forms ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Paint, Acrylic

Gemstone No. 22
Located in Kansas City, MO
Shannon Brouk Gemstone No. 22 Copic alcohol markers and colored pencil on paper Year: 2020 Size: 12x9 inches Unique Comes Matted in matching color Signed by hand COA provided Ref.: 9...
Category

2010s Contemporary Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Archival Paper, Permanent Marker, Color Pencil

Untitled by Carroll Dunham
Located in Morton Grove, IL
Carroll Dunham Untitled Graphite on paper 13.5 x 10.25” Framed 22 x 18.75” Signed by artist 2003 Provenance: Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Graphite

Backside
Located in New York, NY
Backside Pink ink on paper 13 x 8 inches (33 x 20.3 cm) This work is offered by ClampArt in New York City.
Category

20th Century Contemporary Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink

Contemporary drawings and watercolor paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Contemporary drawings and watercolor paintings 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 drawings and watercolor paintings created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, orange, purple, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Leo Guida, Reginald K. Gee, David Barnett, and Luis Miguel Valdes . 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 drawings and watercolor paintings, so small editions measuring 0.79 inches across are also available. Prices for drawings and watercolor paintings 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 $295,000, while the average work sells for $1,201.

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