Contemporary Mixed Media
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.
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Clay
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Canvas, Paint, Paper, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Mixed Media
Paper
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Textile
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Fabric, Pencil
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Film
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Mylar
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Mixed Media
Thread, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Mixed Media
Thread, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Mixed Media
Thread, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Mixed Media
Thread, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Mixed Media
Thread, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Mixed Media
Thread, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Mixed Media
Thread, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Mixed Media
Thread, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Mixed Media
Thread, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Mixed Media
Paper, Thread
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Magazine Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Charcoal, Spray Paint, Acrylic, Graphite
Early 2000s Contemporary Mixed Media
Paper, Ink
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Wire
Mid-19th Century Contemporary Mixed Media
Lithograph
Early 2000s Contemporary Mixed Media
Ink, Paper, Printer's Ink
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Adhesive, Mixed Media, Wax
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Found Objects
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Mixed Media
Plastic, Paper
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Porcelain, Handmade Paper
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Porcelain, Fabric, Wood, Acrylic
1980s Contemporary Mixed Media
Paper, Watercolor, Magazine Paper, Photographic Paper, Pen
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Mixed Media
Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Porcelain
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Porcelain, Wood, Paint
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Thread, Yarn, Fabric
1970s Contemporary Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Mixed Media
Found Objects, Mixed Media
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Video, Mixed Media
Early 2000s Contemporary Mixed Media
Paper
1970s Contemporary Mixed Media
Paper, Pencil
1970s Contemporary Mixed Media
Paper, Watercolor, Pencil
1990s Contemporary Mixed Media
Paper
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Archival Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Mixed Media
Printer's Ink, Etching, Archival Paper, Intaglio
1970s Contemporary Mixed Media
Ink, Photographic Paper
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Canvas, Glass, Paper, Ink
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Mixed Media
Leather, Clay, Glass, Thread, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Mixed Media
Metal, Wire
Artist Comments
"The silence is broken only by the occasional mechanical slurp of tongue on lolly, flutter of paper-thin wing and hum of hovering metal body," says Diane Flic...
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Mixed Media
Fabric, Thread
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Metal
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Fabric, Trimming, Charcoal
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Thread, Paper, Found Objects, Mixed Media, Photographic Paper
Early 2000s Contemporary Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media, Watercolor