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.
$450
Africa Motifs 2 -21st Century Contemporary, Abstract Expressionism, Design
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (Issued by the Gal...
Canvas, Acrylic
$450
Africa Motifs 6 -21st Century Contemporary, Abstract Expressionism, Design
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (Issued by the Gal...
Canvas, Acrylic
$450
Africa Motifs 8 -21st Century Contemporary, Abstract Expressionism, Design
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (Issued by the Gal...
Canvas, Acrylic
$8,900
Clustered Objects and Halo, Diptych. Still Life Painting, Contemporary
Located in Miami Beach, FL
In most of the paintings, the artist uses an interior space as his subject, placing a table or similar object at its center. The use of symmetry and eye level often suggests an altar...
Canvas, Oil
$4,301
Passage des Volumes – Contemporary Abstract Geometric Painting, Architectural
Located in LANGRUNE-SUR-MER, FR
Title: Passage des Volumes Artist: Sophie Dumont Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 65 x 54 cm (25.6 x 21.3 in) Framed dimensions: approx. 72 x 61 cm (28.3 x 24 in) Year: 2025 Conditi...
Oil
$450
Africa Motifs 10 -21st Century Contemporary, Abstract Expressionism, Design
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (Issued by the Gal...
Canvas, Acrylic
$450
Africa Motifs 3 -21st Century Contemporary, Abstract Expressionism, Design
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (Issued by the Gal...
Canvas, Acrylic
$1,136Sale Price|36% Off
Signed Oil on Canvas Painting of Gentleman, Circa 2000, 90x60 cm
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Title: Gentleman in Interior (After Fernando Botero) Artist: Sanz (Spanish painter, active late 20th – early 21st century) Year: circa 2000 Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions (unfr...
Oil
Cherry Delight
Located in Zofingen, AG
“Cherry Delight” is a work about an experience that does not seek to закрепить itself in the future. About intimacy accepted as an event rather than a promise. Like the taste of cher...
Canvas, Oil
$450
Africa Motifs 1 -21st Century Contemporary, Abstract Expressionism, Design
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (Issued by the Gal...
Canvas, Acrylic
Large Canadian 20thC Oil Painting Still Life Of Irises Flowers - French Painter
Located in Cirencester, GB
Artist: André Bertounesque (1937-2005) French Title: "Cut Iris Flower on A Windowsill" Medium: oil on board Size: 106cm x 85cm inclusive of frame Notes: Born in Saint Livrarde Franc...
Oil
Green Square Still Life Painting, Oil on Canvas, Contemporary
Located in Miami Beach, FL
In most of the paintings, the artist uses an interior space as his subject, placing a table or similar object at its center. The use of symmetry and eye level often suggests an altar...
Oil, Canvas
HG66 - Playful Chaos Hidden Garden, 2023
By Damien Hirst
Located in Manchester, GB
Damien Hirst, HG66 - Playful Chaos Hidden Gardens, 2023 Oil on canvas presented in a white, hand-painted wooden frame 62.3 x 45 cm (24.5 x 17.7 in) Original artwork Hand-Signed by D...
Canvas, Oil
$450
Africa Motifs 5 -21st Century Contemporary, Abstract Expressionism, Design
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (Issued by the Gal...
Canvas, Acrylic
$1,433Sale Price|40% Off
The Billiard Player oil on canvas painting
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Title: The Billiard Player Artist: Anonymous Technique: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 39.4 x 31.9 in Period: c. 2000 Condition: Good Art Movement: Contemporary Figurativism, Neofiguratio...
Canvas, Oil
Eloge de la lecture- Abstract library, textured painting, Oil on canvas
Located in LANGRUNE-SUR-MER, FR
Sophie Dumont – Éloge de la Lecture (In Praise of Reading) Oil on canvas – 50 x 50 cm (19.68 x 19.68 in) Framed: 57 x 57 cm (22.44 x 22.44 in) Choice of natural wood or black floatin...
Oil
Shared Secret 2
Located in Zofingen, AG
This work appeared without a clear plan. Sometimes I simply begin painting objects that seem able to coexist within a single composition. I like the feeling that things somehow know ...
Canvas, Oil
$574Sale Price|20% Off
Breathe Slowly/17
Located in Zofingen, AG
“Breathe Slowly/17” - This work is part of a series that encourages the observer to reflect and slow down in the fast pace of modern life. The lightness and spaciousness of the lands...
Acrylic
2023 I – 15 by Christiane Maurer - Textile art, line, colour, vivid, handwoven
Located in Paris, FR
2023 I – 15 (combination of 2023 I – 3, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13) is a unique textile (double weave, handwoven cotton stretched on frame) artwork by contemporary artist Christiane Maurer, d...
Textile, Cotton
New Stories / 3 — A Quiet Horizon Where the Landscape Becomes a Memory
Located in Zofingen, AG
This painting explores a quiet, expansive landscape where space feels open and time slows down. Soft transitions of sky and land create a sense of balance, while subtle contrasts sug...
Acrylic
$704Sale Price|53% Off
'Contemporary Impressionist Interior Scene', Framed Oil on Canvas, 1990
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
This framed 24" x 30" oil on canvas depicts an interior living space in a contemporary impressionist style. The scene features a chair facing an uncovered window during daytime, a cl...
Canvas, Oil
Still Life with Green Tea. Still life Painting, Oil on canvas
Located in Miami Beach, FL
CWhen an artist works with more conventional still life subjects, they focus primarily on the formal properties of the painting, such as color relationships, form, proportions, and o...
Canvas, Oil
Embroidered Jacket
Located in Zofingen, AG
“Embroidered Jacket” in this work refers to a human state and to what lies beyond materiality. It speaks of a moment in which an external change sets an inner movement in motion. It ...
Canvas, Oil
The Dance Goes On, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Sunlight filters through the dilapidated room, illuminating dust motes and peeling paint. Before the crumbling fireplace, the translucent figures of the home'...
Acrylic
The Gifts: Contemporary Oil Painting on Canvas, Man-Animal, 61x93 cm
Located in Bogotá, Bogotá
Oil on canvas in textured mixed technique. This piece is part of a series where I explore our connection with animals through the human and magical. It represents a man-animal lookin...
Cotton Canvas, Oil
Bananekürbis. Still life Painting, Oil on canvas, Contemporary
Located in Miami Beach, FL
When an artist works with more conventional still life subjects, they focus primarily on the formal properties of the painting, such as color relationships, form, proportions, and ot...
Canvas, Oil
In Plain Sight, Oil Painting
By David Thelen
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Focusing on the elegance of everyday design, artist David Thelen presents a contemporary interior as both personal and universal. Defined by clean lines, a subt...
Oil
$450
Africa Motifs 7 -21st Century Contemporary, Abstract Expressionism, Design
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (Issued by the Gal...
Canvas, Acrylic
$5,800
Lazuli Rose - Contemporary Peach Still Life Nasturtiums Pears Blue Teapot, 2025
Located in Kent, CT
Contemporary painting in oil on canvas with a bright and inviting interior scene. A still life arrangement of pears, a painted teapot, and two vases, one with Nasturtiums and another...
Canvas, Oil
Glitter Ball ii. Still life Painting, Oil on canvas, Signed artwork
Located in Miami Beach, FL
When an artist works with more conventional still life subjects, they focus primarily on the formal properties of the painting, such as color relationships, form, proportions, and ot...
Canvas, Oil
$837Sale Price|30% Off
Warm Memory
Located in Zofingen, AG
“Warm Memory” captures the coziness of the moment when the sun gently touches the earth, leaving its rays on the mountain slopes. This canvas, filled with light and warmth, reminds u...
Acrylic
Studio Corner and Floor - Contemporary Interior Painting Artist's Studio, 2018
Located in Kent, CT
In this interior painting, the corner of a bathroom is slightly visible through the doorway along a white wall in an artist's quiet studio space. The warmth of the worn, paint splatt...
Oil, Panel
$3,500
"Mass Study III", Layered paper and drawing collage, architectural, dimensional
By Seth Clark
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This layered paper collage and drawing artwork titled "Mass Study III" is an original artwork by Seth Clark made of paper, charcoal, pastel, graphite, an...
Paper, Charcoal, Pastel, Acrylic, Wood Panel, Graphite
$1,703Sale Price|20% Off
"Signs" Abstract paint Large size, Contemporary Art Made in Italy
Located in Agrigento, AG
Signs mixed technique on canvas 80x80cm 2017 Original Art the painting is sold stretched on a wooden frame ready to hang Buyer can request painting with decorative frame this will t...
Canvas, Charcoal, Oil
$955Sale Price|20% Off
Noon
Located in Zofingen, AG
"Noon" is a painting that immerses the viewer in the majesty and tranquility of nature, reflecting the soft transitions of light and shadow. Against the background of a pale blue sky...
Acrylic
$3,240Sale Price|20% Off
Feelings
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure FREE Shipping Worldwide Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authent...
Canvas, Acrylic
$717Sale Price|40% Off
Morning
Located in Zofingen, AG
"The Melting Day" embodies the intertwining of snows and the warm light of the winter sun. In this canvas, I have captured the moment when the last rays of the day gently glide over ...
Acrylic
The garden calls. Modern acrylic painting on panel signed and framed
Located in Sandwich, GB
A leaded light window is at the centre of this painting. The garden outsdie shows that it is spring and it would seem to be the time for going out to do some gardening in the spring...
Acrylic
Abstract Landscape Paint on Canvas Made in Italy by Marilina Marchica
Located in Agrigento, AG
Original Painting by Marilina Marchica, "Landscape " (2018) Details of the artwork: Title:Landscape Year: 2018 Dimensions: 50x50 cm (depth 3.5 cm) Technique: Contemporary abstract ...
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
Crowded Altar Still Life Painting, Oil on Canvas, Contemporary
Located in Miami Beach, FL
In most of the paintings, the artist uses an interior space as his subject, placing a table or similar object at its center. The use of symmetry and eye level often suggests an altar...
Canvas, Oil
$837Sale Price|30% Off
Breathe Slowly/2
Located in Zofingen, AG
Helen Mount's painting Breathe Slowly/2 embodies the theme of calm and reflection, which is key to the artist's new collection. A huge sky filled with light clouds dominates the calm...
Acrylic
$957Sale Price|20% Off
Breathe Slowly/3
Located in Zofingen, AG
“Breathe Slowly/3” by Helen Mount immerses us in a tranquil dawn over dense forests and soft waves of mist drifting through the valleys. The light of the morning sky, colored in deli...
Acrylic
$9,700
Flying Aster - Contemporary Still Life Yellow Fruit Botanical Red Blue, 2024
Located in Kent, CT
In this contemporary oil painting on canvas, a dining room interior scene is vibrant and colorful with an arrangement of flowers in a painted vase next to blue and white China teapot...
Canvas, Oil
FRAMED Louis XVI #7 original painting by Paula Craioveanu 27.5x19.5in
Located in Forest Hills, NY
Louis XVI #7 Part of "Mixed Moods" solo show, until September 29. Original painting. Size 27.5x19.5in / 70x50cm . Acrylic on canvas. The period armchair, style Louis XVI, become th...
Acrylic
Window8, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
"In my eyes, a window is by no means just part of a structure in a house but is something with remarkable meaning," shares artist Wenjie Jin. Each opening pla...
Acrylic
$646Sale Price|40% Off
Revelation
Located in Zofingen, AG
In "Revelation," I capture the moment where sky and earth meet in a delicate dance of nature. Clouds spill across the sky's canvas, creating a visual poetry that breathes with light ...
Acrylic
$450
Heritage 9 - 21st Century Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, African Woman Hair
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (Issued by the Gallery) About Artist Arobieke Tomiwa...
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
Beside Still Waters, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
A weathered farmhouse stands sentinel, a skeletal whisper against the vast prairie. Once, laughter echoed through its rooms, and children's dreams clung to th...
Acrylic
$1,338Sale Price|20% Off
Abstract Landscape Paint on Canvas Made in Italy by Marilina Marchica
Located in Agrigento, AG
Original Painting by Marilina Marchica, "Landscape " (2018) Details of the artwork: Title:Landscape Year: 2018 Dimensions: 50x50 cm (depth 3.5 cm) Technique: Contemporary abstract ...
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
$716Sale Price|40% Off
"The Way Home"
Located in Zofingen, AG
"The Way Home" immerses us in the majestic beauty of familiar landscapes that evoke a sense of unshakable belonging. The subtle shades of the sun enveloping the smooth lines of the r...
Acrylic
$418Sale Price|30% Off
Breathe Slowly/7
Located in Zofingen, AG
Helen Mount's «Breathe Slowly/7» captures the emotional intensity and color scheme that reflects the moments of transition from day to night. The canvas is covered with rich shades o...
Acrylic, Canvas
Interior Space#1 Windows, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
A corridor in a public space hosts a series of windows. Their rhythmic repetition adds a sense of movement, while the harmonious color scheme of beige, grey, ...
Acrylic
The Dream of Architecture
Located in Zofingen, AG
I would like to present to you my new work titled "The Dream of Architecture." This is an oil painting on canvas created in a surrealistic style, which allows me to expand the bounda...
Canvas, Oil
Stairway to Heaven
Located in Zofingen, AG
This oil on canvas painting is a visual interpretation of a Led Zeppelin song, capturing the essence of the music through symbolic and dreamlike imagery. At the heart of the piece ar...
Canvas, Oil
“Zura Original ‘12 Chairs’ Artwork — Bold Primitivist Style
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Twelve Chairs revisits the visual language of 1920s modernism. With bold, simplified lines and a graphic immediacy reminiscent of drawing, Zura evokes the era’s spirit of primitivism...
Canvas, Acrylic
GEM #23, Gallery Wall "GEMS" Collection, Black, White, Box, Mini, Tiny, Original
Located in Woodstock, GA
This Gallery Wall “GEM” is a one-of-a-kind original artwork created to bring a bold pop of personality into your space. With its striking black-and-white contrast and sculptural swee...
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
Carrie Bradshaw says good bye. From the Art, Culture & Society series
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Movies, TV and magazines are constant source of inspiration. Fame, as fleckring and shallow it can be sometimes, is very intriguing to him. The worlds of fashion, society and pop cu...
Ink, Watercolor
New Stories / 2 — A Quiet Landscape of Change and Continuity
Located in Zofingen, AG
This painting explores a quiet, expansive landscape where space feels open and time slows down. Soft transitions of sky and land create a sense of balance, while subtle contrasts sug...
Acrylic
2022 I – 1 by Christiane Maurer - Textile art, geometric, handwoven
Located in Paris, FR
2022 I – 1 is a unique textile (double weave, handwoven cotton stretched on frame) artwork by contemporary artist Christiane Maurer, dimensions are 112 × 92 cm (44.1 × 36.2 in). The...
Textile, Cotton
$39,500
Bromeliad
By Hunt Slonem
Located in Lexington, KY
This early Hunt Slonem interior piece was painted in 1977. In 1980, they published an edition of 250 serigraphs of this painting. The large scale is a perfect focal point for any roo...
Oil