Contemporary Portrait Paintings
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.
Early 2000s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Charcoal, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Oil, Canvas
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Wood, Acrylic, Ballpoint Pen
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Wood, Pastel, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Paper, Mixed Media
Late 19th Century Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Oil
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Acrylic, Gouache, Wood Panel
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Mixed Media, Screen, Oil
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Charcoal, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Acrylic
Early 2000s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Acrylic, Handmade Paper
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Gold Leaf
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Mixed Media, Oil, Screen
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Pastel, Acrylic, Archival Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Oil, Panel
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Oil, Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Linen, Spray Paint, Acrylic
Early 2000s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Hyoungseok Kim paints a group of people hanging out on the beach using pointillism. He emphasizes the material and scientific features of nature by exp...
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic, Mixed Media
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Paper, Ink, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Oil, Canvas
Late 20th Century Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Oil, Plywood
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Paper, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Oil, Acrylic, Wood Panel
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Oil Crayon, Archival Ink, Oil, Spray Paint, Acrylic
Early 2000s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Paper, Ink, Watercolor, Pen
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
Artist Comments
This is Who Are These Angels CXVI, an original oil painting.
About the Artist
Naoko Paluszak began her career by...
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Oil
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Linen, Oil