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.
Tractor Replaces the Horse
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original enamel on metal painting by emerging contemporary conceptual artist Craig Sheperd (b. 1984) Craig Sheperd’s paintings, most of which are enamel on metal, were created o...
Metal, Enamel
Untitled
Located in Barcelona, CT
the painting is being offered with a work and authenticity certificate
Ink
Sisters in Yellow 1
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
"I cherish our memories and the bond we share. My love for you is like a precious gem, shining bright and always treasured." Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor on...
Canvas, Acrylic
$3,469Sale Price|20% Off
Black on Grey Conceptual Abstract - British 60's Conceptual art oil painting
Located in Hagley, England
This striking conceptual abstract oil painting is by British artist Penelope Ellis. It was painted in 1963 in black on a grey background. The shapes appear to be floating or flying, ...
Oil
$8,000Sale Price|33% Off
Flower Goddess - Figurative Paintings - Conceptual Art By Marc Zimmerman
Located in Carmel, CA
Primal woman of the jungle with a headdress of vibrant tropical plants Flower Goddess - Figurative Paintings - Conceptual Art By Marc Zimmerman This masterpiece is exhibited in th...
Oil
$3,700
Steadfast Gaze 1 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Africa, Girl
By John Ali
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
$3,500
Garment of Hope 3 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Africa Girl
By John Ali
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
"Garment of Hope," a poignant masterpiece crafted by the skilled hands of artist John Ali, invites viewers into a world where innocence and resilience converge. This evocative artwor...
Canvas, Acrylic
Bob Seng, Exit 397, 2002, scraped, collaged, EXIT signs, 8" x 12"
By Bob Seng
Located in Darien, CT
Robert Seng was born and raised in Seattle, served in the US Navy in Vietnam, and finished his BFA and MFA on the GI Bill. He was a founder of Artech, Seattle’s premier art services company, to support his art career. A New York resident since 1986, Seng has worked at Artforum, the Guggenheim Museum and taught at Fairfield University while continuing his studio practice in painting and sculpture. In the mid 1990’s Seng moved into site-specific installation work with collaborator Lisa Hein. Together they have made more than 40 projects with moving light...
Plastic
Untitled
Located in Barcelona, CT
The painting is being offered with a work and authenticity certificate
Lithograph
$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
Blue menina
Located in Barcelona, CT
This artwork presents a stylized figure set against a striking, abstract backdrop. Dominating the canvas, the central figure is adorned in a voluminous, deep blue skirt, evoking a re...
Acrylic, Wood
Chinese Contemporary Art by Su Yu - Rope Swing
By Su Yu
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on canvas Su Yu is a Chinese artist born in 1987 who lives and works in Beijing. He was an old student of prestigious art teachers as Shi Liang & Chen Danqing at Oil Paintin...
Canvas, Oil
$2,600Sale Price|20% Off
Russian authorities. 2002, oil on canvas, acrylic, collage, 60x40 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Russian authorities. 2002, oil on canvas, acrylic, collage, 60x40 cm Igor Leontiev (1957) - one of the leading independent painters in Latvia Born in Riga, Latvia. Studied in the A...
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
Bob Seng, Exit 350, 2002, scraped, collaged, EXIT signs, 8" x 12"
By Bob Seng
Located in Darien, CT
Robert Seng was born and raised in Seattle, served in the US Navy in Vietnam, and finished his BFA and MFA on the GI Bill. He was a founder of Artech, Seattle’s premier art services company, to support his art career. A New York resident since 1986, Seng has worked at Artforum, the Guggenheim Museum and taught at Fairfield University while continuing his studio practice in painting and sculpture. In the mid 1990’s Seng moved into site-specific installation work with collaborator Lisa Hein. Together they have made more than 40 projects with moving light...
Plastic
Bob Seng, Exit 326, 2000, scraped, collaged, EXIT signs, 8" x 12"
By Bob Seng
Located in Darien, CT
Robert Seng was born and raised in Seattle, served in the US Navy in Vietnam, and finished his BFA and MFA on the GI Bill. He was a founder of Artech, Seattle’s premier art services company, to support his art career. A New York resident since 1986, Seng has worked at Artforum, the Guggenheim Museum and taught at Fairfield University while continuing his studio practice in painting and sculpture. In the mid 1990’s Seng moved into site-specific installation work with collaborator Lisa Hein. Together they have made more than 40 projects with moving light...
Plastic
Untitled
Located in Barcelona, CT
The painting is being offered with a work and authenticity certificate
Oil
$11,500
Ellen Hackl Fagan, ColorSoundGrammar_ASOG, 2010, Enamel, Latex, Ink, Graphite
Located in Darien, CT
Inviting the accidental while painting, the artist's materials continue to reveal limitless possibilities for improvisation, like jazz music. Influenced by scientific theories-both real and imagined, kitsch, music, decorative art and indigenous textiles, Fagan's abstract paintings and interactive performance build connections between color and surface to sound. This exploration has led to creating a series of interactive games with viewers, the most recent being The Alphabet Game. To play, viewers select, from colored squares, the color(s) that best represent each note in the familiar ABC Song melody. Through these playful interventions their thoughts about color and music are explored in-depth. Documenting their responses in the form of photographs and notes in journals, Fagan has compiled the results of fifteen artists who played the Alphabet Game during a lecture on color where the artist was the guest presenter in order to create this particular painting. Fagan distilled the data gathered and painted this visualization of a color/sound alphabet based on the colors selected by this artist's group. These alphabet paintings introduce a wonderful completion to this pseudo-scientific investigation and celebrate painting...
Enamel
Untitled
Located in Barcelona, CT
The painting is being offered with a work and authenticity certificate
Engraving
$1,900
Perro
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, Linen
Red menina
Located in Barcelona, CT
This artwork showcases a striking figure, central to the composition, with a stark, matte black complexion contrasting sharply against vibrant hues. The character's blue bobbed hair ...
Acrylic
Hashish, Palestine Large Mixed Media Conceptual Abstract Painting
By Dennis Balk
Located in Surfside, FL
From his show Hashish at Michael Steinberg Gallery (bearing their label verso) Reviewed by Roberta Smith in the New York Times. Abstract Expressionism meets graffiti photography. Cy ...
Canvas, Ink
Qana, Palestine Large Mixed Media Conceptual Abstract Painting
By Dennis Balk
Located in Surfside, FL
From his show Hashish at Michael Steinberg Gallery (bearing their label verso) Reviewed by Roberta Smith in the New York Times. Abstract Expressionism meets graffiti photography. Cy ...
Canvas, Ink
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
Melancholy - Yuutsuna
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Yoshikuni Iida, Japanese (1923 - 2006) Title: Melancholy - Yuutsuna Year: 1973 Medium: Acrylic on Canvas, signed and dated verso Size: 39.5 x 79 in. (100.33 x 200.66 cm)
Acrylic
Untitled
Located in Barcelona, CT
The painting is being offered with a work and authenticity certificate
Mixed Media
Untitled
Located in Barcelona, CT
The painting is being offered with a work and authenticity certificate
Mixed Media
$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
Untitled
Located in Barcelona, CT
The painting is being offered with a work and authenticity certificate
Mixed Media
"Backstage Rant" Conceptual Text Based Painting
By David Kramer
Located in New York, NY
This large scale conceptual text based painting by New York artist, David Kramer, features, in bold type the phase: "... I AM STILL WAITING FOR MY...
Oil, Canvas
'To The Slow Graceful Dance'. Mixed Media Painting, Botanical, conceptual
Located in Penzance, GB
'To The Slow Graceful Dance' Original Artwork. Unframed _________________________ A breeze in the theatre, a dance begins, costumes rising to the rhythm of the birdsong choir. The p...
Paint, Ink, Mixed Media, Board, Pencil, Photogram
Faith Thumbnail H Large Mixed Media Conceptual Abstract Painting
By Dennis Balk
Located in Surfside, FL
From his show Hashish at Michael Steinberg Gallery (bearing their label verso) Reviewed by Roberta Smith in the New York Times. Abstract Expressionism meets graffiti photography. Cy ...
Canvas, Ink
Untitled
Located in Barcelona, CT
The painting is being offered with a work and authenticity certificate
Mixed Media
Untitled
By Juan Canals
Located in Barcelona, CT
The painting is being offered with a work and authenticity certificate
Mixed Media
Voodoo Altar: Feast for the Loa
By Adam Leontus
Located in Miami, FL
Voodoo Altar: Feast for the Loa This work represents a convergence of religion, craft, and design, as well as the need for individual artistic expression. It is a visual feast as muc...
Masonite, Oil
Pick me up
Located in Zofingen, AG
This work is about the part of us that is strong, grown, independent… and still sometimes wants to be held. About the inner child. About trust. About vulnerability that is, in fact, ...
Canvas, Oil
Quiet Matriarch - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Africa
By John Ali
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
Portrait of polar bear . Original oil painting . Vintage style . Children’s room
Located in Oslo, NO
This captivating artwork presents a textured portrayal of a teddy bear exuding warmth and nostalgia. The bear is centrally positioned, wearing a vintage-style, striped cardigan, enha...
Oil, Board
Untitled
Located in Barcelona, CT
The painting is being offered with a work and authenticity certificate
Mixed Media
Living Large - Original Canvas - Signed
Located in New York, NY
Homages to Mr. Monopoly. Conceptual. Vintage magazines in the background to create the narrative. One of a kind. About the Artist: NELSON DE LA NUEZ is one of the most sough...
Canvas, Acrylic, Watercolor, Newsprint
Untitled
Located in Barcelona, CT
The painting is being offered with a work and authenticity certificate
Ink, Mixed Media
Studio Muse - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Africa
By John Ali
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
An old friend . Original oil painting .Teddy bear . Children’s room
Located in Oslo, NO
This captivating painting features a charming teddy bear, exuding nostalgia and warmth. Painted with expressive, bold brushstrokes, the bear's textured fur radiates a sense of cozine...
Oil, Board
Everyday Frames
Located in Zofingen, AG
The painting “Everyday Frames” explores the theme of restrictions on women's freedom through the prism of everyday life. The yellow and white cells are both a visual reminder of ever...
Canvas, Oil
Untitled
Located in Barcelona, CT
The painting is being offered with a work and authenticity certificate
Mixed Media
Vibrant Heritage - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Africa
By John Ali
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
Untitled
Located in Barcelona, CT
the painting is being offered with a work and authenticity certificate
Mixed Media, Oil
Cave paintings on paper, Indian ink, hand drawing, leather papyrus style
By Peter Kramer
Located in Carballo, ES
Obsessive, meticulous, almost monastic, Kramer immerses us in a universe of graphic and sculptural repetitions. His drawings on kraft paper glued with rabbit glue recall both ancient...
Ink, Handmade Paper
Anatomical bodies in Indian ink on paper, antique papyrus, human being
By Peter Kramer
Located in Carballo, ES
Obsessive, meticulous, almost monastic, Kramer immerses us in a universe of graphic and sculptural repetitions. His drawings on kraft paper glued with rabbit glue recall both ancient...
Ink, Handmade Paper
Untitled
Located in Barcelona, CT
The painting is being offered with a work and authenticity certificate
Lithograph
Glimmer of Hope - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Africa
By John Ali
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
"Plovers" Conceptual painting of birds and moon rocket engine
Located in New York, NY
In this conceptual painting, New York artist, Thomas Broadbent presents five portraits of Plovers in 2 rows with a finely detailed rendering of a moon rocket engine...
Watercolor, Archival Paper
Waiting from the Cold Country
Located in Atlanta, GA
tony hernandez was born in Atlanta in 1964 and has been painting professionally since 1988. while he is a southern artist, his works are far from the re...
Mixed Media
Untitled
Located in Barcelona, CT
the painting is being offered with a work and authenticity certificate
Mixed Media, Lithograph
Untitled
Located in Barcelona, CT
The painting is being offered with a work and authenticity certificate
Mixed Media
"Under construction", Painting with concrete on paper, Land art / Earthworks
By TUSET
Located in Carballo, ES
This new series of works by the multidisciplinary artist TUSET (1997, A Coruña) shows us a completely unique dynamic. In these works he uses the concrete of the construction as picto...
Concrete
$4,000
Conceptual Text Based Painting "Paved with Gold" (tax the poor, feed the rich)
By David Kramer
Located in New York, NY
38"x28" signed by the artist, David Kramer. (oil, acrylic, enamel, pencil on gessoed paper) In this conceptual work on paper, the title: "Paved with Gold" counters the text which ov...
Paper, Oil, Pencil
LIE TO ME, Mixed Media Abstract Painting with Text
By Henri Bassmadjian
Located in Surfside, FL
Born in 1958. At his first personal exhibition (greeted by "Le Matin"), he is still a high school student. At the workshops of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, he prefers the pers...
Oil Pastel, Gouache, Graphite
Cool Ducks
By Jim Molloy
Located in New York, NY
2 cool ducks floating. Fun. About the Artist: Jim Molloy is a studio and plein air painter. "I like to try to find and capture the beauty and simplicity of the world around u...
Canvas, Oil
Contemporary blue painting on paper, Seascape, Abstract Seaweeds
By TUSET
Located in Carballo, ES
This is an original artwork unframed realized by TUSET in 2020. We can frame it in natural wood or black on request. Dimensions: 65 x 50 cm Original and unique piece 1/1. Includes ...
Ink, Handmade Paper
$3,700
Steadfast Gaze 3 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Africa, Girl
By John Ali
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