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.
Oostdijk Silence 1 - 21st Century Contemporary seascape painting
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
Joost Verhagen Oostdijk Silence 1 100 x 140 cm Acrylic paint on canvas Shipping on a roll in a tube we can offer, worldwide, for free. Because of the constantly changing prices we ...
Acrylic, Canvas
![[Bruce-Sargeant (1898-1938)] Two Wrestlers on Opposing Teams](https://a.1stdibscdn.com/mark-beard-paintings-bruce-sargeant-1898-1938-two-wrestlers-on-opposing-teams-for-sale-picture-2/a_9323/a_182089621781973162067/Beard_Mark_Bruce_Sargeant_1898_1938_Two_Wrestlers_on_Opposing_Teams_framed_1200_master.jpg?width=240)
![[Bruce-Sargeant (1898-1938)] Two Wrestlers on Opposing Teams](https://a.1stdibscdn.com/mark-beard-paintings-bruce-sargeant-1898-1938-two-wrestlers-on-opposing-teams-for-sale/a_9323/a_182089621781973135668/Beard_Mark_Bruce_Sargeant_1898_1938_Two_Wrestlers_on_Opposing_Teams_unframed_1200_master.jpg?width=240)
[Bruce-Sargeant (1898-1938)] Two Wrestlers on Opposing Teams
By Mark Beard
Located in New York, NY
Signed in red, u.r. Oil on canvas 20 x 18 inches (91.4 x 61 cm) Price includes $150 additional cost of framing This work is offered by CLAMP in New York City
Oil
$10,000
Grass Blue Wild Flower - Sky Blue Periwinkle Magenta Abstract Painting, 2022
By Josette Urso
Located in Kent, CT
Thoughtfully combined sections of varying textures and areas of pattern, stripes, circles, dots and undulations in cheerful, exuberant color. Little moments in luminous shades of sky...
Canvas, Oil
Pomegranate Red Shiny Pocket Painting 252, original painting, still-life
Located in Deddington, GB
Pocket Shiny Red Pomegranate 252 (canvas size 7x7cm) is an original oil painting by Dani Humberstone as part of her Pocket Painting series featuring small scale realistic oil paintin...
Canvas, Oil
Talking with You
By Jacob Burda
Located in Zofingen, AG
This painting reflects a quiet moment shared by two people whose conversation seems untouched by time. They may be close friends or perhaps a couple — the kind of connection where wo...
Canvas, Acrylic
"You Are Here: S Thing" Thread and Acrylic in Graffiti Letter
By Kelly Kozma
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This sculpture titled "You Are Here: S Thing" is an original artwork by Kelly Kozma made of thread scraps & acrylic on panel. The piece measures 4"h x 4"w x 1.75"d. Kelly Kozma ...
Found Objects, Acrylic, Panel
White Hills
Located in San Francisco, CA
Alejandro Rubio White Hills, 2022 Oil on canvas 16 x 40 inches This one-of-a-kind oil painting on canvas is stretched across wooden stretcher bars.
Canvas, Oil
Weightless - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Modern, Africa Men
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Weightless captures a suspended moment between control and release. His posture suggests not defeat, but acceptance, a letting go of tension, burden, and the unseen trials that pres...
Canvas, Charcoal, Mixed Media, Acrylic
$3,350
Golden Shade of Love - Large Scale Mixed Media Graffiti Inspired Art on Canvas
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles artist Amber Goldhammer paints dramatic abstract compositions in acrylic on canvas featuring energetic brushstrokes. Goldhammer uses her contemporary paintings to express...
Canvas, Latex, Ink, Mixed Media, Spray Paint, Acrylic
Pink Ascension Beyond The Moon & Stars
By Hunt Slonem
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Hunt Slonem, American, included in 250+ museum collections Unique oil on canvas painting, artist's antique frame, signed and dated verso Inspired by nature and his 60 pet birds, Hu...
Gold Leaf
Hibiscus Yellow Pocket Painting 233, original painting
Located in Deddington, GB
Pocket Yellow Hibiscus 233 (canvas size 5x5cm) is an original oil painting by Dani Humberstone as part of her Pocket Painting series featuring small scale realistic oil paintings, wi...
Canvas, Oil
New Girl in Town
Located in Zofingen, AG
New Girl in Town captures that delicate, almost imperceptible feeling of being slightly out of rhythm with the world around you — where everything seems settled, familiar, already un...
Canvas, Acrylic
Fancy a Cup of Tea
Located in Zofingen, AG
Fancy a Cup of Tea? is about the quiet rituals of friendship. The conversations that begin with something ordinary and end somewhere much deeper. A cup of tea, a familiar chair, a tr...
Canvas, Acrylic
$2,200
"INTRO MELODY INTRO REPRISE", abstract mixed media dark geometric painting
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"INTRO MELODY INTRO REPRISE" is an original artwork by Hyland Mather made of acrylic and aerosol with string and pins on canvas, the work is presented in a solid wood tray frame. It ...
Canvas, Thread, Wood, Acrylic, Pins
Hibiscus Pink Pocket Painting 229, original painting
Located in Deddington, GB
Pocket Pink Hibiscus 229 (canvas size 5x5cm) is an original oil painting by Dani Humberstone as part of her Pocket Painting series featuring small scale realistic oil paintings, with...
Canvas, Oil
Being Present
Located in Zofingen, AG
Size: 95×120 cm (overall size with stretching 105×130 cm) Year: 2026 Materials: acrylic on canvas Shipping: rolled A white dog resting on a soft pink armchair becomes an image of q...
Acrylic, Canvas
Mistress of the Autumn Garden
Located in Zofingen, AG
In this painting, the artist creates the image of a woman as the keeper of the harvest, of space, and of the rhythms of nature. Her figure rises from the earth as naturally as the ap...
Canvas, Acrylic
$4,400
Clear Afternoon August Wyatt Mt - Blue Sky Mountains Virginia Landscape, 2023
Located in Kent, CT
The densely treed forest and mountain ledges of Hennen's Virginia home are the subject for this rich, highly detailed contemporary landscape painting in oil on panel. Recording the c...
Oil, Panel
Pleasure - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Africa Women
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.
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
Waiting To Blossom -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Mixed Media, Fabrics
By Bakare Abubakri-sideeq Babatunde
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube. This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. About Artist Bakare Babatund...
Fabric, Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
$675
Love Tide Washes In - Mixed Media Street Graffiti Inspired Artwork on Canvas
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles artist Amber Goldhammer paints dramatic abstract compositions in acrylic on canvas featuring energetic brushstrokes. Goldhammer uses her contemporary paintings to express...
Canvas, Latex, Ink, Mixed Media, Spray Paint, Acrylic
Gale - Contemporary Abstract Acrylic Painting on Canvas, Framed, 32x26 in
Located in Bloomfield, ON
This contemporary abstract acrylic painting was inspired by nature. Sandra Goldie’s artwork has been praised by one of Quebec’s leading abstract artists. Leopold Plotek described th...
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
$3,518
Terres d'eclaircie, Abstract Landscape, Contemporary Oil Painting, Framed, 2026
Located in LANGRUNE-SUR-MER, FR
In Terres d'éclaircie, Sophie Dumont transforms the landscape into a refined composition of layered textures, luminous earth tones and subtle blue accents. Broad abstract planes evok...
Oil
Protected Truth -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Mixed Media
By Bakare Abubakri-sideeq Babatunde
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube. This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. About Artist Bakare Babatund...
Fabric, Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
Another Day Still Disable -21st Century, Contemporary Figurative Portrait Modern
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique; this is not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. (Issues b...
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
Culture Identity 4 - 21st Century Contemporary Figurative Modern Women Painting
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. About Artist The...
Canvas, Charcoal, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Reminiscing
Located in Burlingame, CA
Elizabeth Geisler is best known for contemporary paintings of water that bridge realism and abstraction. At close range, her surfaces appear loose and ambiguous, but from a distance ...
Canvas, Acrylic
Peonies - Contemporary Botanical Still Life Peony Flowers Teacup Glove, 2024
By Matt Barter
Located in Kent, CT
A contemporary botanical still life oil painting on panel with magenta, pink, white and dark purple peonies in a mustard ochre colored vase, a blue glove and white teacup against a w...
Oil, Board
$2,353
The future is calling us for - Contemporary Architecture Pool House Oil Painting
By Lilly Muth
Located in DE
Lilly Muth's architectural paintings transport viewers on a visual journey to a different world, where imagination knows no bounds and the boundaries between reality and fantasy blur...
Canvas, Oil
$7,500
"Composition with Two Purple Flowers" Ed Baynard, Still Life, Japanese Influence
By Ed Baynard
Located in New York, NY
Ed Baynard Composition with Two Purple Flowers, 2000 Signed, titled and dated on the reverse Oil on canvas 30 x 24 inches Provenance Private Collection, Minnesota Private Collection...
Canvas, Oil
$4,235
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
Mixed Feeling 2 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Modern, Women
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
“Mixed Feelings” is a visual series that captures the emotional complexity of Black womanhood, strength, softness, pride, visibility, and invisibility. Each portrait in this series h...
Canvas, Charcoal, Mixed Media, Acrylic
$5,177
Large Contemporary Abstract Painting Gestural Mixed Media Mediterranean Light
By Ángel Celada
Located in FISTERRA, ES
Large contemporary abstract painting with gestural marks and layered mixed media textures inspired by Mediterranean light and atmosphere. This work by Ángel Celada develops an open ...
Oil, Spray Paint, Acrylic, Board, Wax Crayon, Wax
$348Sale Price|24% Off
Colorful Geometric Houses with Jetty, Playful Architectural Acrylic Painting
Located in FISTERRA, ES
Colorful geometric houses beside a jetty emerge from a delicately sketched landscape in this playful architectural acrylic painting by Spanish artist María Magán Lampón. Created in ...
Canvas, Acrylic
Muriel Chazalon, "End of day" Oil on canvas, Contemporary Landscape
Located in Montfort l’Amaury, FR
Muriel Chazalon (b. 1957) – Fin de journée (End of Day) Oil on canvas, 2023, 31½ × 47¼ in. (80 × 120 cm) signed on the back Fin de journée is a large-scale landscape painting by Mur...
Canvas, Oil
$1,317Sale Price|20% 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
Mixed Feeling 3 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Modern, Women
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
“Mixed Feelings” is a visual series that captures the emotional complexity of Black womanhood, strength, softness, pride, visibility, and invisibility. Each portrait in this series h...
Canvas, Charcoal, Mixed Media, Acrylic
"Washington Square" City Scene of Woman Walking a Dog in Miniature Painting
By Tom Haugomat
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"Washington Square" is an original painting by Tom Haugomat, made as part of his traveling artist residency with The Jaunt. Traveling from France to Philadelphia, Haugomat was inspir...
Paper, Acrylic
Mountains 16 January 10:41 - Modern Nature Landscape Painting
Located in Hallein, AT
Robert Motelski's paintings are exceptional visions of nature, visions of space which surrounds us. They tell about being, fate and passing. They depend on the season of year, the ti...
Canvas, Acrylic
$3,350
Echoes of Identity - 21st Century, Contemporary, Abstract Figuration, Modern
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. About Artist The...
Canvas, Acrylic
$8,200
Old Hemlock Stand and New Growth - Brown Green Virginia Forest Landscape Trees
Located in Kent, CT
The densely treed forest and mountain ledges of Hennen's Virginia home are the subject of this rich, highly detailed landscape painting in oil on panel. An enormous boulder presiding...
Oil, Panel
Dandylion Clock Pocket Painting 247, original painting, still-life
Located in Deddington, GB
Pocket Dandylion Clock 247 (canvas size 5x5cm) is an original oil painting by Dani Humberstone as part of her Pocket Painting series featuring small scale realistic oil paintings, wi...
Canvas, Oil
Hummingbird (260306)
By Gwen Wong
Located in Atlanta, GA
Gwen Wong's work is both painterly and allegorical, caught somewhere in the middle between the representational painter and the narrator. "I am inspired by the idea of a childhood re...
Gold Leaf
Bunnies on White Diamond Dust
By Hunt Slonem
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Hunt Slonem, American, included in 250+ museum collections Unique oil and diamond dust on canvas painting, signed and dated verso Inspired by nature and his 60 pet birds, Hunt Slon...
Gold Leaf
Between Dreams
Located in Burlingame, CA
Elizabeth Geisler is best known for contemporary paintings of water that bridge realism and abstraction. At close range, her surfaces appear loose and ambiguous, but from a distance ...
Canvas, Acrylic
PAILL by Ramon Enrich - 5.7 ft wide painting, landscape and architecture
By Ramon Enrich
Located in Paris, FR
PAILL is a unique acrylic on canvas painting by contemporary artist Ramon Enrich, dimensions including the frame are 95 × 175 cm (37.4 × 68.9 in). The artwork is signed, sold frame...
Canvas, Acrylic
$378Sale Price|35% Off
Park XVI (Berlin artist, Postwar, Contemporary, Abstract vs Figurative)
Located in Kansas City, MO
Barbara Keidel Park XVI Mixed media, pastel on handmade, toned laid paper 1997 Size: 29.5 × 21.25 inches (75 × 54 cm) Signed and dated in pencil Additionally hand-signed, dated, tit...
Pastel, Mixed Media, Laid Paper
Winter Stream - Contemporary Atmospheric Landscape Oil Pastel Painting
By Janusz Kokot
Located in Hallein, AT
Janusz Kokot was born in Kalisz in 1960. He studied at the Pedagogical University in Częstochowa at the Art Institute. He practices painting and drawing. In the years 1988 - 2020 he ...
Paper, Oil Pastel, Pencil
I Hunt Rabbits - Original Dog Pet Portrait Mixed Media Painting - Beagle
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Columbus, Georgia-based artist Kellie Newsome specializes in dynamic and expressive animal portraits that radiate vitality and personality. Her unique style combines abstracted forms...
Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Color Pencil
Garden - Contemporary Jade Green Aqua Blue Poured Painting, 2025
Located in Kent, CT
Garden by Susan English, a contemporary poured painting, is a wonderful play of color, light, and composition. Vertical stripes and blocks of color in hues of soft jade, pale mint gr...
Acrylic Polymer, Panel
$1,450
Self Pride 2 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Portrait, Africa Women
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, Charcoal, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Such is Life - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Africa, Men
By Oluwatimileyin Tega Adegbenjo
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Life's journey twists and turns, Ups and downs, joys and burns. Moments sweet, moments sour, Such is life, in every hour. Dreams bloom, dreams fade away, Hopes rise, hopes fade to g...
Canvas, Oil
“Chez Nous Berlin” – Oil on Canvas by Joan-Carles Roca Sans (1998)
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
Joan-Carles Roca Sans (Barcelona, 1998) “Chez Nous Berlin” Hand-signed in the lower right. Titled and dated 1998 on the reverse. Oil on canvas. Dimensions: 1...
Oil
Meditation
Located in Burlingame, CA
Willard Dixon is widely recognized for his calm, contemplative landscapes and skyscapes, paintings that hold stillness, clarity, and a quiet reverence for nature. In this exhibition,...
Canvas, Oil
'Veil' Acrylic Painting on Panel, Contemporary Landscape, 21st Century
Located in Burlingame, CA
Elizabeth Geisler is best known for her dazzling contemporary water reflection paintings that bridge realism with abstraction. Up close, the paintings appear ambiguous and loose, yet...
Acrylic, Panel
$1,300
Landscape 20 - 21st Century Contemporary Impressionistic Landscape Painting
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
Frank Dekkers Landscape 20 15 x 20 cm (framed, included in price 20 x 25 cm) oil on Panel About the artist: Frank Dekkers, an outdoor painter, but not a "square painter" as we know...
Oil, Wood Panel
$1,294
11/02/2023, 18.03h by Calo Carratalá - Small waterscape painting, Senegal, palms
Located in Paris, FR
11/02/2023, 18.03h is a unique oil on wooden board painting by Spanish contemporary artist Calo Carratalá, dimensions are 22 × 37 cm (8.7 × 14.6 in). The artwork is signed, sold unf...
Oil, Wood Panel
Dotted Clover - Warm Abstract Folk Art Inspired Botanical Painting on Raw Canvas
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Meredith Walker’s "Dotted Clover" is a bold and meditative piece of contemporary folk art that highlights her ability to blend simplicity with symbolic resonance. This original acryl...
Canvas, Acrylic, Gouache
$31,062
Cainemim by Ramon Enrich - 6.5-In Wide Geometric Landscape Painting, Earth Tones
By Ramon Enrich
Located in Paris, FR
Cainemim is a unique acrylic on canvas painting by Spanish contemporary artist Ramon Enrich, dimensions are 190 × 200 cm (74.8 × 78.7 in). The artwork is signed, sold unframed and co...
Canvas, Acrylic
The artist and activist is the subject of a new show at Washington, D.C.'s National Gallery of Art.
Manhattan's Acquavella Galleries is showing a group of the artist's monumental works that have never been seen together.
Koloman Moser smashed the conservative conventions of art and design in fin-de-siècle Vienna. On the 100th anniversary of his death, the Austrian designer is being celebrated for his radically modern creations.