In 1967, artist Sol LeWitt wrote that in “Conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work.” He was giving a name to an art movement that had emerged in the 1960s in which artists were less focused on their medium being something traditionally “artistic” and instead engaged in using any object, movement, form, action or place to express an idea.
LeWitt’s work was featured alongside an assemblage of notes, drawings and outlines by other artists in “Working Drawings and Other Visible Things on Paper Not Necessarily Meant to Be Viewed as Art,” a groundbreaking show at New York City’s School of Visual Arts curated by Mel Bochner, another leading exponent of Conceptualism. Building on radical 20th-century statements, like Fountain (1917) by French artist Marcel Duchamp, Conceptual artists around Europe and North and South America were not interested in the commercial art scene and rather directly challenged its systems and values.
Stretching into the 1970s, this movement has also been called Post-Object art and Dematerialized art. Conceptual art reflected a larger era of social and political upheaval. Pieces associated with the style range from Roelof Louw’s Soul City (Pyramid of Oranges) (1967) — a work of installation art that sees fresh oranges stacked into a pyramid from which visitors are allowed to take one orange away — to On Kawara’s “Today” series, which saw the Japanese artist carefully painting a date in white acrylic on canvases consisting of a single color from 1966 to his death in 2014. Artists such as Ed Ruscha, who created the Twentysix Gasoline Stations book — a collection of photos of gas stations that is widely said to be the first modern artists’ book — made photography a major platform for Conceptual art, as did Bruce Nauman, who burned one of Ruscha's books and then photographed it for his own.
Conceptual art’s legacy of questioning artistic authorship, ownership and how to work with complex ideas of space and time had a significant influence on the decades of culture that followed, and it continues to inform art today.
The collection of Conceptual photography, paintings and sculptures on 1stDibs includes artworks by John Baldessari, Jenny Holzer, Lawrence Weiner, Joseph Kosuth and others.
Illusion
Located in Zofingen, AG
Where does reality end and illusion begin? This work explores the themes of manipulation, simulation, and the fragility of trust. An old television set — a symbol of a past era when...
Canvas, Oil
$865Sale Price|23% Off
Window. Oil on canvas, 80x120 cm
By Elga Grinvalde
Located in Riga, LV
Window. Oil on canvas, 80x120 cm Elga Grinvalde ”ellgrii” Born in Valka (Latvia) 1966 Education: 1982-1986 Riga Applied Art College,Latvia department of glasswork desig. 1994-1998...
Canvas, Oil
$2,800
Krishna, Mythology, Acrylic, Tempera, Green, Yellow by Indian Artist "In Stock"
By Aditya Basak
Located in Kolkata, West Bengal
Aditya Basak - Untitled - 36 x 30 inches (unframed size) Acrylic & Tempera on Canvas ** This work will be shipped in a roll form. "Through the medium of the fantasy, Basak probes...
Canvas, Acrylic, Tempera
Linternas
By Erik Perez
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
An innate and atypical landscape artist, Eric Pérez is an intellectual who paints. He knows and loves Mexican and world history, from which he derives his contemporary context. His p...
Canvas, Oil
$1,850
Luna 2
By Erik Perez
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
An innate and atypical landscape artist, Eric Pérez is an intellectual who paints. He knows and loves Mexican and world history, from which he derives his contemporary context. His p...
Oil, Canvas
$2,800
Indian Woman, Citylife, Acrylic, Tempera on Canvas, Green, Yellow, Red"In Stock"
By Aditya Basak
Located in Kolkata, West Bengal
Aditya Basak - Untitled - 36 x 30 inches (unframed size) Acrylic & Tempera on Canvas ** This work will be shipped in a roll form. "Through the medium of the fantasy, Basak probes...
Canvas, Acrylic, Tempera
Kremlin (Rusia)
By Donis Dayán
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
Multidisciplinary artist. Twenty years of artistic experience in the Fine Arts. Eight years of practice as a University professor of Fine Arts. Broad knowledge of design software: Ad...
Canvas, Oil
Casa Blanca (USA)
By Donis Dayán
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
Multidisciplinary artist. Twenty years of artistic experience in the Fine Arts. Eight years of practice as a University professor of Fine Arts. Broad knowledge of design software: Ad...
Canvas, Oil
Untitled
Located in Barcelona, CT
The painting is being offered with a work and authenticity certificate
Mixed Media
$6,000
Ideas
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
Lidzie Alvisa Jiménez (Havana in 1969), one of the most recognized conceptual artists in Cuba, studied from the elementary level to the ISA (Superior Institute of Art), graduating in...
Canvas, Oil
Untitled
Located in PARIS, FR
This original painting by Sigismond Kolos-Vary, dated 1982, reflects the artist’s distinctive abstract visual language. The composition is built around a dynamic interplay of geometr...
Canvas, Oil
$5,224
H 31.89 in W 39.38 in D 0.99 in
Large White Rose Oil Painting, Contemporary Floral Artwork, France, 2010
Located in AIX-EN-PROVENCE, FR
"Blooming Rose” is an oil painting on Linen canvas created in 2010 by the French artist Françoise de Beaucé. From a private collection. This elegant artwork celebrates the timeless b...
Oil, Canvas, Linen
$7,250
H 46 in W 30 in D 2 in
"Dancing with" Abstract Acrylic on Linen Painting 46" x 30" inch by Hossam Dirar
By Hossam Dirar
Located in Culver City, CA
"Dancing with" Abstract Acrylic on Linen Painting 46" x 30" inch by Hossam Dirar "Dancing with" (2016) by Hossam Dirar 46” x 30” Mixed media on linen canvas CHAOS This project i...
Canvas, Oil, Linen
Mostly White, 24x20" oil, framed still life
By Lu Haskew
Located in Loveland, CO
Mostly White by Lu Haskew Floral Still Life Oil painting 24x20" image size 28x24" framed size Shipping price includes the custom packing necessary for safe transport of fine art. ...
Canvas, Oil
$2,554
H 13.78 in W 10.63 in
Circle Teniers, Flemish Art, Peasants smoking and drinking in a Tavern Interior
Located in Greven, DE
Circle or Follower of David Teniers, Peasant in a Tavern Inn, drinking and smoking. Oil on canvas, Framed: 39 x 47 cm. Typical Flemish Baroque Interior...
Canvas, Oil
$450
H 7.8 in W 12 in D 1 in
Tales By Moonlight 2 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Landscapes, Modern City, Oil
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
The harbor town hummed with a low, rhythmic energy as the sun dipped below the horizon. Shadows stretched long and ominous, swallowing the vibrant colors of the day. But as the last ...
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
$450
H 7 in W 10 in D 1 in
Tales By Moonlight 1 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Landscapes, Modern City, Oil
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
As the moon climbed higher, the stories grew darker, more fantastical. Whispers of mermaids, shipwrecks, and buried treasure filled the air. The harbor town, once a bustling hub of a...
Canvas, Oil, Mixed Media
$1,295
H 23 in W 25 in D 2 in
Antique American Impressionist Red Barn In Winter Framed Landscape Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American impressionist barn landscape oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Measuring: 23 by 25 inches overall, and 20 by 22 painting alone. Excellent condition, ready to ha...
Oil, Canvas
$975
H 18 in W 21 in D 2 in
Antique French Impressionist Sunlit Landscape Framed Original Early Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique French landscape oil painting. Sun dappled forest path. Oil on canvas. Framed. Measuring: 18 by 21 inches overall, and 13 by 16 painting alone. Excellent condition, ready to...
Canvas, Oil
$1,850
H 48 in W 36 in D 1 in
Serenity's Haven - 21st Century, Contemporary, Landscapes, Modern City, Oil
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
“Serenity’s Haven”, my thought unfurls into vastness, like a mirror reflecting the soul’s uncharted territories. Born from whispers of a community entwined with faith and moonlit pe...
Canvas, Oil
$2,650
H 48 in W 78 in D 1 in
Liquid Roots - 21st Century, Contemporary, Landscapes, Modern City, Oil
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Creating this piece has taught me a lot about human resilience and how silent historians are destroyed. For me, buildings are silent historians. When they’re demolished, we lose a lo...
Canvas, Oil
$1,393Sale Price|20% Off
H 47.25 in W 59.06 in
A source - XXI Century, Contemporary Acrylic Architecture Painting, Colorful
Located in Warsaw, PL
Marta Rynkiewicz is a young Polish artist born in 1983. She studied painting with Professor Henryk Czenik and graphic arts with Professor Jerzy Krechowicz, at the Faculty of Paintin...
Canvas, Acrylic
Sold
H 35.44 in W 35.44 in D 0.79 in
Blue sky oil painting Celestial Symphony Fine art Music Philosophy Conceptual
Located in Zofingen, AG
Celestial Symphony/ Symphony in the Sky My eyes mostly are directed up to the sky...I love it! And I have captured this magnificent moment on canvas. This artwork were chosen fo...
Canvas, Oil
Sold
H 39.38 in W 39.38 in D 0.79 in
Old Schoolboard Nr.8 Science Art Collection by Anastasia Vasilyeva
Located in Zofingen, AG
This artwork is painted in the form of a classical school board with math equations. It is a part of the Science Art Collection by Anastasia Vasilyeva. Th...
Oil Pastel, Acrylic
Sold
H 23.63 in W 23.63 in D 0.71 in
Purple abstraction with numbers, Science Art Collection Conceptual painting
Located in Zofingen, AG
This painting was presented in Zurich during the SWISS Art Expo 2021. New Science Artwork with numbers in violet, purple, and lilac colors. 60x60x1.8cm; The painting is ready to hang...
Oil Pastel, Acrylic, Engraving
INSIDE OF ME
Located in Yerevan, AM
INSIDE OF ME, 2020, 80x80 cm
Canvas, Oil
GAME OVER
Located in Yerevan, AM
GAME OVER, 2020, 100x80 cm
Canvas, Oil
Luna 2
By Erik Perez
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
An innate and atypical landscape artist, Eric Pérez is an intellectual who paints. He knows and loves Mexican and world history, from which he derives his contemporary context. His p...
Canvas, Oil
Monkey Brains
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Variable: Two 18” X 24” paintings, bound Oil & image transfer on boards with cotton strapping $2300 A painter, sculptor, and installation artist, ...
Oil