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Contemporary Photography

CONTEMPORARY STYLE

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.

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Style: Contemporary
Artist: Michael Kenna
Asparagus Sticks, Study 3, Biei, Hokkaido, Japan
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition 1/25 Signed, titled, negative date, print date and numbered by Michael Kenna Sepia toned gelatin silver. Printed 2020. Mat size: 20 x 16 in., Image size: 7 3/4 x 8 in. Micha...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Norway Spruce Tree, Hokkaido, Japan
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Michael Kenna is a master of contemporary photography. Known for clean compositions, long exposures and minimalist aesthetics, Kenna’s signature style remains highly influential amon...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Dakekanba and Snow Barriers, Hokkaido, Japan
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Michael Kenna is a master of contemporary photography. Known for clean compositions, long exposures and minimalist aesthetics, Kenna’s signature style remains highly influential amon...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Blackstone Hill Tree, Hokkaido, Japan
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Michael Kenna is a master of contemporary photography. Known for clean compositions, long exposures and minimalist aesthetics, Kenna’s signature style remains highly influential amon...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Orumnai Ice, Hokkaido, Japan
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Michael Kenna is a master of contemporary photography. Known for clean compositions, long exposures and minimalist aesthetics, Kenna’s signature style remains highly influential amon...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Shoreline Tree Remains, Hokkaido, Japan
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Michael Kenna is a master of contemporary photography. Known for clean compositions, long exposures and minimalist aesthetics, Kenna’s signature style remains highly influential amon...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Dancing Trees, Kussharo Lake, Hokkaido, Japan
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Michael Kenna is a master of contemporary photography. Known for clean compositions, long exposures and minimalist aesthetics, Kenna’s signature style remains highly influential amon...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Approaching Ice Floe, Okhosk Sea, Hokkaido, Japan
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Michael Kenna is a master of contemporary photography. Known for clean compositions, long exposures and minimalist aesthetics, Kenna’s signature style remains highly influential amon...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Washing Day, Colne, Lancashire, England
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition 1/25 Signed, titled, negative date, print date and numbered by Michael Kenna Sepia toned gelatin silver. Printed 2020. Mat size: 20 x 16 in., Image size:9 1/4 x 6 1/2 in. Mi...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Fourteen Trees, Higashikawa, Hokkaido, Japan
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Michael Kenna is a master of contemporary photography. Known for clean compositions, long exposures and minimalist aesthetics, Kenna’s signature style remains highly influential amon...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Pine Trees, Study 4, Wolcheon, Gangwondo, South Korea, silver gelatin print
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Pine Trees, Study 4, Wolcheon, Gangwondo, South Korea, silver gelatin print Michael Kenna is a master of contemporary photography. Known for clean compositions, long exposures and...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

One Hundred and Seventy Eight Birds, San Francisco, California, USA
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition of 25 Signed, titled, negative date, print date and numbered. Sepia toned gelatin silver Michael Kenna's black and white photographs are powerful and alluring. His imagery t...
Category

1990s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Quixote's Giants, Study 1, Campo de Criptana, Spain.
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Michael Kenna is master of contemporary photography. Known for clean compositions, long exposures and minimalist aesthetics, Kenna’s signature style remains highly influential among ...
Category

20th Century Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Approaching Clouds, Pizzoferato, Abruzzo, Italy
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Abruzzo, located in southern Italy, is known as the ‘green region of Europe’ because of the system of parks and nature reserves covering more than one-third of its territory. It has ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

White Copse, Study 4, Wakkanai, Hokkaido, Japan, black and white photograph
Located in Sante Fe, NM
White Copse, Study 4, Wakkanai, Hokkaido, Japan is a black and white (silver gelatin) photograph by Michael Kenna. Michael Kenna is a master of contemporary photography. Known for c...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Tuileries Gardens, Study 4, Paris, France
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition of 45 Signed, titled, negative date, print date and numbered by Michael Kenna Sepia toned gelatin silver print Michael Kenna's black and white photographs are powerful and a...
Category

1980s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Morning Mists, Pyin U Lwin, Myanmar
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition of 25 Signed, titled, negative date, print date and numbered. Sepia toned gelatin silver Michael Kenna's black and white photographs are powerful and alluring. His imagery t...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Wanaka Lake Tree, Study 2, Otafo, New Zealand, black and white photograph
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Wanaka Lake Tree, Study 2, Otafo, New Zealand is a black and white photograph by Michael Kenna. The (silver gelatin) print is signed and numbered. Michael Kenna is master of cont...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Temple Lotus Flowers, Ayutthaya, Thailand
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Michael Kenna is master of contemporary photography. Known for clean compositions, long exposures and minimalist aesthetics, Kenna’s signature style remains highly influential among ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Le Desert de Retz, Study 12, France
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition of 45 Signed, titled, negative date, print date and numbered. Sepia toned gelatin silver Michael Kenna's black and white photographs are powerful and alluring. His imagery t...
Category

1980s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Quayside, Study 2, Bosham, West Sussex, England
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Michael Kenna is master of contemporary photography. Known for clean compositions, long exposures and minimalist aesthetics, Kenna’s signature style remains highly influential among ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Edition 5 of 45 Michael Kenna is a master of contemporary photography. Known for clean compositions, long exposures and minimalist aesthetics, Kenna’s signature style remains high...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Wat Mahathat Buddha Head, Ayutthaya, Thailand
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Michael Kenna is master of contemporary photography. Known for clean compositions, long exposures and minimalist aesthetics, Kenna’s signature style remains highly influential among ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Strolling Swan, Chateau d'Azay le Rideau, France
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition of 25 Signed, titled, negative date, print date and numbered. Sepia toned gelatin silver Michael Kenna's black and white photographs are powerful and alluring. His imagery t...
Category

1980s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Eiffel Tower, Study 11, Paris, France
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition of 45 Signed, titled, negative date, print date and numbered. Sepia toned gelatin silver Michael Kenna's black and white photographs are powerful and alluring. His imagery t...
Category

1980s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Mina, Study 7, Japan
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Ten years ago, after a particularly tumultuous period in his life, Michael Kenna quietly made a decision to expand his photographic practice to include the human form. Kenna is well known for his minimalistic landscapes, and has been vocal in the past about the absence of the human figure in his photographs stating, "I feel they gave away the scale and became the main focus of the viewer’s attention." But, believing "fixed dogma is not a creative tool...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Olivia's Tree, Study 1, Meursault, Bourgogne, France
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Michael Kenna is master of contemporary photography. Known for clean compositions, long exposures and minimalist aesthetics, Kenna’s signature style remains highly influential among ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Four Hundred and Seventy Five Birds, San Francisco, USA
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Michael Kenna is master of contemporary photography. Known for clean compositions, long exposures and minimalist aesthetics, Kenna’s signature style remains highly influential among ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Line of Trees, Biei, Hokkaido, Japan
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Michael Kenna is master of contemporary photography. Known for clean compositions, long exposures and minimalist aesthetics, Kenna’s signature style remains highly influential among ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Olivia's Tree, Study 1, Meursault, Bourgogne, France
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition of 25 Signed, titled, negative date, print date and numbered. Sepia toned gelatin silver Michael Kenna's black and white photographs are powerful and alluring. His imagery t...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Row of Kannons, Doryuji, Kagawa, Shikoku, Japan
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition of 45 Signed, titled, negative date, print date and numbered. Sepia toned gelatin silver print Michael Kenna's black and white photographs are powerful and alluring. His ima...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Red Crown Crane Feeding, Tsurui, Hokkaido, Japan
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Michael Kenna is master of contemporary photography. Known for clean compositions, long exposures and minimalist aesthetics, Kenna’s signature style remains highly influential among ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Amidha Buddha, Kotoku-in, Kamakura, Honshu, Japan
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition of 45 Signed, titled, negative date, print date and numbered. Sepia toned gelatin silver print Michael Kenna's black and white photographs are powerful and alluring. His ima...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Spire, Notre Dame, Paris, France
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition of 25 Signed, titled, negative date, print date and numbered. Sepia toned gelatin silver print Michael Kenna's black and white photographs are powerful and alluring. His ima...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Namiko, Study 3, Japan,
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Ten years ago, after a particularly tumultuous period in his life, Michael Kenna quietly made a decision to expand his photographic practice to include the human form. Kenna is well known for his minimalistic landscapes, and has been vocal in the past about the absence of the human figure in his photographs stating, "I feel they gave away the scale and became the main focus of the viewer’s attention." But, believing "fixed dogma is not a creative tool...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Atget's Trees, Study 3, Parc St. Cloud, Paris, France
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition of 45 Signed, dated and numbered in pencil on mount margin recto. Signed, titled, negative date, print date and numbered in pencil with the artist's stamp in black ink on mo...
Category

20th Century Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Notre Dame, Study 3, Paris, France
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition of 25 Signed, titled, negative date, print date and numbered by Michael Kenna Sepia toned gelatin silver print Michael Kenna's black and white photographs are powerful and a...
Category

Late 20th Century Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Quayside, Study 2, Bosham, West Sussex, England
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition of 25 Signed, titled, negative date, print date and numbered. Sepia toned gelatin silver Michael Kenna's black and white photographs are powerful and alluring. His imagery t...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Giza Pyramids, Study 6, Cairo, 2009
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Michael Kenna is master of contemporary photography. Known for clean compositions, long exposures and minimalist aesthetics, Kenna’s signature style remains highly influential among ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Flatiron Building, Study 2, New York, New York, USA
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition of 45 Signed, dated and numbered in pencil on mount margin recto. Signed, titled, negative date, print date and numbered in pencil with the artist's stamp in black ink on mo...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Chrysler Building, Study 3, New York, New York, USA
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition of 45 Signed, dated and numbered in pencil on mount margin recto. Signed, titled, negative date, print date and numbered in pencil with the artist's stamp in black ink on mo...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Seven Horses, Iti Maunga, Easter Island. 2001
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Michael Kenna is master of contemporary photography. Known for clean compositions, long exposures and minimalist aesthetics, Kenna’s signature style remains highly influential among ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Le Desert de Retz, Study 36, France
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition of 45 Signed, titled, negative date, print date and numbered. Sepia toned gelatin silver Michael Kenna's black and white photographs are powerful and alluring. His imagery t...
Category

1980s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Torii Gate, Study 4, Shosanbetsu, Hokkaido, Japan
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition of 25 Signed, titled, negative date, print date and numbered. Sepia toned gelatin silver print Michael Kenna's black and white photographs are powerful and alluring. His ima...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Tuileries Gardens, Study 2, Paris, France
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition of 45 Signed, titled, negative date, print date, and numbered. Sepia toned gelatin silver print Michael Kenna's black and white photographs are powerful and alluring. Hi...
Category

20th Century Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Namiko, Study 2, Japan
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Ten years ago, after a particularly tumultuous period in his life, Michael Kenna quietly made a decision to expand his photographic practice to include the human form. Kenna is well known for his minimalistic landscapes, and has been vocal in the past about the absence of the human figure in his photographs stating, "I feel they gave away the scale and became the main focus of the viewer’s attention." But, believing "fixed dogma is not a creative tool...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Mountaintop Buddha, Pindaya, Myanmar
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition of 25 Signed, titled, negative date, print date and numbered. Sepia toned gelatin silver Michael Kenna's black and white photographs are powerful and alluring. His imagery t...
Category

1980s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Barge Passing, Paris, France
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition of 45 Signed, dated and numbered in pencil on mount margin recto. Signed, titled, negative date, print date and numbered in pencil with the artist's stamp in black ink on mo...
Category

1980s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Brooklyn Bridge, Study 1, New York, USA by Michael Kenna, 2006
Located in Dallas, TX
Brooklyn Bridge, Study 1, New York, USA by Michael Kenna presents a dramatic scene. The Brooklyn Bridge stretches across the sky, leading to the New York City skyline on the horizon....
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Tree and Slippers Woljeongsa Temple, Gangwondo, South Korea
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Edition of 40 Michael Kenna is master of contemporary photography. Known for clean compositions, long exposures and minimalist aesthetics, Kenna’s signature style remains highly inf...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Two Hundred and Seven Sheep, Rakaia Valley, Canterbury, New Zealand. 2013
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Michael Kenna is master of contemporary photography. Known for clean compositions, long exposures and minimalist aesthetics, Kenna’s signature style remains highly influential among ...
Category

1990s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Karamatsu Forest, Biei, Hokkaido, Japan
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition of 45 Signed, dated and numbered in pencil on mount margin recto. Signed, titled, negative date, print date and numbered in pencil with the artist's stamp in black ink on...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Window View, Château de Haroué, Lorraine, France
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition of 45 Signed, titled, dated, print date and numbered. Sepia toned gelatin silver print. Michael Kenna's black and white photographs are powerful and alluring. His imager...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Flying Bird over San Marco, Venice, Italy
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Edition of 40 Michael Kenna is master of contemporary photography. Known for clean compositions, long exposures and minimalist aesthetics, Kenna’s signature style remains highly inf...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Four Birds, St. Nazaire, France
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Edition of 40 Michael Kenna is master of contemporary photography. Known for clean compositions, long exposures and minimalist aesthetics, Kenna’s signature style remains highly inf...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Mountaintop Buddha, Pindaya, Myanmar
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Michael Kenna is master of contemporary photography. Known for clean compositions, long exposures and minimalist aesthetics, Kenna’s signature style remains highly influential among ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Distant Mountains, Passo delle Capannelle, Pizzoli, Abruzzo, Italy
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Abruzzo, located in southern Italy, is known as the ‘green region of Europe’ because of the system of parks and nature reserves covering more than one-third of its territory. It has ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Skyline, Shanghai, Study 5, China
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition of 45 Signed, titled, negative date, print date and numbered. Sepia toned gelatin silver Michael Kenna's black and white photographs are powerful and alluring. His imagery t...
Category

1980s Contemporary Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Contemporary photography for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Contemporary photography available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add photography created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, purple, orange, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Stefanie Schneider, Tyler Shields, Kirsten Thys van den Audenaerde, and Richard Heeps. Frequently made by artists working with Pigment Print, and Archival Pigment Print and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Contemporary photography, so small editions measuring 0.4 inches across are also available.

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