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Conceptual Art

CONCEPTUAL STYLE

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.

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Style: Conceptual
Palm Springs 8

Palm Springs 8

By Vanessa Marsh

Located in Sante Fe, NM

Further to Fly is a series of Wet Plate Collodion Photograms that continues in my practice of using drawings on mylar layered with light-sensitive materials in the darkroom to create imagined landscapes. The illustrations used in the series are based on reference shots I took in Palm Springs...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

Photogram

Jennifer W. Reeves "Untitled" Abstract Iconic Striped Form
Jennifer W. Reeves "Untitled" Abstract Iconic Striped Form

Jennifer W. Reeves "Untitled" Abstract Iconic Striped Form

By Jennifer Wynne Reeves

Located in Detroit, MI

SALE ONE WEEK ONLY Jennifer's "Untitled" piece appears to be a landscape with a colorful stripped form arising out of the grasses. It is an iconic image that she incorporates into her work. The following excerpt from her Artist Statement best describes her feeling about it: I stopped the slug imagery and started making purely abstract paintings. Eventually, abstract lines and forms evolved into “characters.” They lived in landscapes of a realistic sort. They were abstractions on a representational journey. It occurred to me that they were the slugs. I thought they had gone but they hadn’t. It occurred to me that they were the slugs. I thought they had gone but they hadn’t. They were the slugs transformed. Evolved slugs and broken out from their cocoons. They had become abstract “butterflies.” Jennifer Wynne Reeves was known for creating a body of paintings, drawings and photographs that speak to and confront formalist and humanist dilemmas. Beyond her achievements in the art world, Reeves enjoyed a considerable fan-base as a result of her astonishing Facebook presence where she chronicled and interwove her art and diaristic prose. Reeves solo exhibitions included Art & Public in Geneva, Gian Enzo Sperone in Rome; Max Protetch, Ramis Barquet and BravinLee programs, NYC. Reeves was also celebrated for her writing. She produced a graphic novel, The Anyway Ember and Soul Bolt, a book of images and prose. “Profoundly rewarding works” said LA Times writer, David Pagel, in a review her 2015 exhibition at CB1 Gallery. Reeves is a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow recipient. The following is an artist’s statement about her theory off work: “Twenty years ago, I called them slugs. In the beginning, they were like long lumps without arms or legs. Powerless. Difficult. Paralyzed. I thought maybe they were the symbols of sloth or depression or fear. They didn’t do anything. I wondered if I should stop making them? They were not beautiful. Nobody liked them. Nobody wanted to look at them. They were repellent and, worse, they were funny. I hated that. I wanted to be a “serious” artist. I was conflicted. I had to make the images that came to me but I was embarrassed. Maybe it wasn’t a fancy path but painting slugs was more honest than painting flowers (nothing against flower paintings, mind you). It came down to a moral choice. So, I determined to follow the slug road. Maybe it was a road that led somewhere? Or maybe not. After several years, I thought I hit a dead-end. I stopped the slug imagery and started making purely abstract paintings. Eventually, abstract lines and forms evolved into “characters.” They lived in landscapes of a realistic sort. They were abstractions on a representational journey. It occurred to me that they were the slugs. I thought they had gone but they hadn’t. It occurred to me that they were the slugs. I thought they had gone but they hadn’t. They were the slugs transformed. Evolved slugs and broken out from their cocoons. They had become abstract “butterflies.” Little kids liked them. I hated that. I wanted to be a “serious” artist. I’m not sure, exactly, who they are. They could be our conscience, our psychology, or simply the part inside us that yearns. They could be artists, modernists or the first of “us” that crawled out of the ocean. My best hunch is they are whatever it is that makes us want to make. I hope that’s a good thing and beautiful and seriously funny. Whatever the case, I’d like to know what it’s all about.” Jennifer Reeves...

Category

1990s Conceptual Art

Materials

Wood, Acrylic

Iain Baxter& "Regurgitating Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting
Iain Baxter& "Regurgitating Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting

Iain Baxter& "Regurgitating Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting

By Iain Baxter

Located in Surfside, FL

Landscape with beach chair or lawn chair in bright vibrant colors. Iain Baxter& (the artist recently added the ampersand to his name) is recognized as Canada’s pioneering conce...

Category

20th Century Conceptual Art

Materials

Mixed Media, Monoprint, Monotype

Street

Street

By Jim Molloy

Located in New York, NY

Nostalgic painting of vintage toy car with graffiti background. About the Artist: Jim Molloy is a studio and plein air painter. "I like to try...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Iain Baxter& "Containing Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting
Iain Baxter& "Containing Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting

Iain Baxter& "Containing Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting

By Iain Baxter

Located in Surfside, FL

Landscape with snow capped mountains in bright vibrant colors. Iain Baxter& (the artist recently added the ampersand to his name) is recognized as Canada’s pioneering conceptua...

Category

20th Century Conceptual Art

Materials

Mixed Media, Monoprint, Monotype

Sliver Streak

Sliver Streak

By Kat O'Neill

Located in New York, NY

Archival Ink. Photograph. Waves. Produced by Dye Sublimation - which means archival inks infused into aluminum. Ltd Ed of 10. The art can be inside or outside with no visible lo...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

Metal

David Bowie Aladdin Sane Eyes Open, limited edition by Duffy

David Bowie Aladdin Sane Eyes Open, limited edition by Duffy

By Brian Duffy

Located in Austin, TX

Museum quality fine art print of an alternative shot from the cover shoot for Aladdin Sane by David Bowie from the official Duffy Archive. This official Duffy Archive print is avail...

Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Art

Materials

Archival Pigment

"Untitled Abstract Village with Horses, Color Lithograph, 20th Century"

"Untitled Abstract Village with Horses, Color Lithograph, 20th Century"

Located in Belgrade, MT

This piece is from my private collection of 20th Century -21st Century artists, many of which are from the School of Paris era. Pelayo produced this lithograph in colors. The Latin American spirit...

Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Art

Materials

Paint, Lithograph

Fresh Paintings 274, Signed Conceptual Chromogenic Print by Niko Luoma
Fresh Paintings 274, Signed Conceptual Chromogenic Print by Niko Luoma

Fresh Paintings 274, Signed Conceptual Chromogenic Print by Niko Luoma

Located in Long Island City, NY

Fresh Paintings 274 by Niko Luoma (1970) Date: 2004 Chromogenic Print with Diasec, signed in pen on verso Edition of 1/3, 2 AP's Size: 39.25 x 49.25 in. (99.7 x 125.1 cm)

Category

Early 2000s Conceptual Art

Materials

Digital

Fresh Paintings 445, Signed Conceptual Chromogenic Print by Niko Luoma
Fresh Paintings 445, Signed Conceptual Chromogenic Print by Niko Luoma

Fresh Paintings 445, Signed Conceptual Chromogenic Print by Niko Luoma

Located in Long Island City, NY

Fresh Paintings 445 by Niko Luoma (1970) Date: 2004 Chromogenic Print with Diasec, signed in pen on verso Edition of 1/3, 2 AP's Size: 39.25 x 49.25 in. (99.7 x 125.1 cm)

Category

Early 2000s Conceptual Art

Materials

Digital

Exposure #19: NYC, Central Park, 04.01.03, 9:36 am Diptych by Barbara Probst
Exposure #19: NYC, Central Park, 04.01.03, 9:36 am Diptych by Barbara Probst

Exposure #19: NYC, Central Park, 04.01.03, 9:36 am Diptych by Barbara Probst

Located in Long Island City, NY

In her photographic series, Barbara Probst explores the ambiguities of the photographic medium and the subjectivity of truth and perception. At first, the groups may appear to be the...

Category

Early 2000s Conceptual Art

Materials

Photography, Paper, Offset

Detail From: The Saints Laurentius and Catherine, Giovanni Gaddi, 1380 painting
Detail From: The Saints Laurentius and Catherine, Giovanni Gaddi, 1380 painting

Detail From: The Saints Laurentius and Catherine, Giovanni Gaddi, 1380 painting

By Reinhard Görner

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Detail From: The Saints Laurentius and Catherine, Giovanni Gaddi, 1380 painting Berlin Painting Gallery 2008 Two editions available. This 2008 conceptual photograph by German photo...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Archival Pigment

Iain Baxter& "Jumping Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting
Iain Baxter& "Jumping Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting

Iain Baxter& "Jumping Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting

By Iain Baxter

Located in Surfside, FL

Landscape with Swiss cheese (or architectural frieze) in bright vibrant colors. Iain Baxter& (the artist recently added the ampersand to his name) is recognized as Canada’s pio...

Category

20th Century Conceptual Art

Materials

Mixed Media, Monoprint, Monotype

Heirloom

Heirloom

By Nancy Larrew

Located in Santa Monica, CA

Wood, mirrors, wire, plastic, LED lights. Artist statement: "Behind the doors of this cabinet/tower is an infinity mirror and a DNA double helix branded with the word “trauma.” The...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Wire

Dinosaur
Dinosaur

Dinosaur

By Niki Singleton

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Dinosaur, 2011 53 x 43 inches Acrylic, oil, latex and image transfer on board $3300 2015 A painter, sculptor, and installation artist, Niki Singleton draws on both popular cu...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Acrylic, Latex, Oil

Fritz Horstman, Formwork for the East River, 2017, Wood, Latex Paint, Wood Panel
Fritz Horstman, Formwork for the East River, 2017, Wood, Latex Paint, Wood Panel

Fritz Horstman, Formwork for the East River, 2017, Wood, Latex Paint, Wood Panel

By Fritz Horstman

Located in Darien, CT

While working on a large building project several years ago the artist, Fritz Horstman was struck by the poetry in the unfinished state of the construction site. He was drawn specifically to the space between the plywood walls that were raised as formworks for the pouring of cement. That space could only exist for a few hours before the cement truck arrived, but in that moment it was a revolving abstraction of potential, delineation, growth, and destruction. Once filled it was gone: the plywood was stripped away, the earth was backfilled. To suspend that moment he began building models of formworks. Leaving them unfilled, they are perpetually unfinished. From models based directly on architecture, Horstman expanded to forms found in the landscape. Making a formwork that depicts constraint upon the landscape is not exactly a reversal of the formwork’s function, but it asks different questions than a formwork designed for a building would. Why would you make a cement creek? What is the relationship between a flowing creek and poured cement? Is this a barrier or just delineation? For River Woman ODETTA, in addition to several small sculptures in the Flat File, Horstman will install Formwork for the East River, which describes that river’s shape as it flows from Rikers Island to the tip of Manhattan. The 3 x 18 x 7 foot sculpture...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

Wood, Latex, Wood Panel

Don't drown (The Contemporary World)-collage, acrylic on canvas
Don't drown (The Contemporary World)-collage, acrylic on canvas

Don't drown (The Contemporary World)-collage, acrylic on canvas

By Lena Cher

Located in Fort Lee, NJ

The war, cruelty, racism, political games, the age of gluttony in consumption, making money and of course the race for youth and beauty, when it’s hard to find out who you are and wh...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

Canvas, Epoxy Resin, Acrylic

GEL Armoires Frigorifiques Commerciales horizontal mid century vintage poster
GEL Armoires Frigorifiques Commerciales horizontal mid century vintage poster

GEL Armoires Frigorifiques Commerciales horizontal mid century vintage poster

By Omnes

Located in Spokane, WA

Delightful 1950s French Refrigerator Poster — “Armoires Frigorifiques Commerciales GEL” — Linen Backed, Original! Grade A, Å- condition. Very fine! Searching for the coolest piec...

Category

1950s Conceptual Art

Materials

Lithograph

"Untitled 4.16" Still Life Photography 24' x 16' in Ed of 15 by García De Marina

"Untitled 4.16" Still Life Photography 24' x 16' in Ed of 15 by García De Marina

By García De Marina

Located in Culver City, CA

"Untitled 4.16" Still Life Photography 24' x 16' in Ed of 15 by García De Marina Signed and numbered by the artist Comes with COA issued by the artist García de Marina was born in ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Digital Pigment

When I posed for a camera club, 2012

When I posed for a camera club, 2012

By Jennifer Greenburg

Located in Sante Fe, NM

Jennifer Greenburg challenges social norms and the nature of vernacular photographs in her series Revising History. Interjecting herself in mid-century images from the 1940’s – 60’s,...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

Archival Pigment

Untitled (Orgy), Digital Pigment Print by Peter Coffin
Untitled (Orgy), Digital Pigment Print by Peter Coffin

Untitled (Orgy), Digital Pigment Print by Peter Coffin

By Peter Coffin

Located in Long Island City, NY

A digital c-print by Peter Coffin. A conceptual work featuring a diptych of two pages from open books referring to the degrees of separation within the relationship between artist, a...

Category

Early 2000s Conceptual Art

Materials

Digital Pigment

Artist Designed Signed Judaica Israeli Menorah Candelabra Sculpture Silver Plate
Artist Designed Signed Judaica Israeli Menorah Candelabra Sculpture Silver Plate

Artist Designed Signed Judaica Israeli Menorah Candelabra Sculpture Silver Plate

Located in Surfside, FL

N. Levi (signed in Hebrew and English) Menorah Done in a brutalist design with the Hebrew words "Seek the peace of jerusalem" Dimensions: 8 X 9 X 2.5 inches This appears to be silver plated as I do not see a silver standard mark or hallmark. There has been a resurgence of fine artists making Judaica, There was initial generation of the Bezalel School in Jerusalem and later Ludwig Wolpert at the Jewish Museum in New York City, whose spare, geometric, functionalist style was influenced by the Bauhaus school in particular and modernism in general, Moshe Zabari, Maxwell Chayat, in New York, Menachem Berman...

Category

Early 2000s Conceptual Art

Materials

Metal, Silver

Iain Baxter& "Correcting Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting
Iain Baxter& "Correcting Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting

Iain Baxter& "Correcting Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting

By Iain Baxter

Located in Surfside, FL

Landscape with refrigerator in bright vibrant colors. Iain Baxter& (the artist recently added the ampersand to his name) is recognized as Canada’s pioneering conceptual artist...

Category

20th Century Conceptual Art

Materials

Mixed Media, Monoprint, Monotype

Iain Baxter& "Deflecting Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting
Iain Baxter& "Deflecting Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting

Iain Baxter& "Deflecting Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting

By Iain Baxter

Located in Surfside, FL

Lanscape with waffle iron in bright vibrant colors. Iain Baxter& (the artist recently added the ampersand to his name) is recognized as Canada’s pioneering conceptual artist. F...

Category

20th Century Conceptual Art

Materials

Mixed Media, Monoprint, Monotype

Iain Baxter& "Recovering Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting
Iain Baxter& "Recovering Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting

Iain Baxter& "Recovering Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting

By Iain Baxter

Located in Surfside, FL

Landscape with music record or disc in bright vibrant colors. Iain Baxter& (the artist recently added the ampersand to his name) is recognized as Canada’s pioneering conceptual...

Category

20th Century Conceptual Art

Materials

Mixed Media, Monoprint, Monotype

Iain Baxter& "Lettering Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting
Iain Baxter& "Lettering Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting

Iain Baxter& "Lettering Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting

By Iain Baxter

Located in Surfside, FL

Landscape with framed house in bright vibrant colors. Iain Baxter& (the artist recently added the ampersand to his name) is recognized as Canada’s pioneering conceptual artist....

Category

20th Century Conceptual Art

Materials

Mixed Media, Monoprint, Monotype

Iain Baxter& "Merging Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting
Iain Baxter& "Merging Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting

Iain Baxter& "Merging Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting

By Iain Baxter

Located in Surfside, FL

Landscape with ironing board in bright vibrant colors. Iain Baxter& (the artist recently added the ampersand to his name) is recognized as Canada’s pioneering conceptual artist...

Category

20th Century Conceptual Art

Materials

Mixed Media, Monoprint, Monotype

Iain Baxter& "Dislodging Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting
Iain Baxter& "Dislodging Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting

Iain Baxter& "Dislodging Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting

By Iain Baxter

Located in Surfside, FL

Landscape with barbecue grill in bright vibrant colors. Iain Baxter& (the artist recently added the ampersand to his name) is recognized as Canada’s pioneering conceptual artis...

Category

20th Century Conceptual Art

Materials

Mixed Media, Monoprint, Monotype

Vintage Large Scale C Print Untitled Abstract Photograph
Vintage Large Scale C Print Untitled Abstract Photograph

Vintage Large Scale C Print Untitled Abstract Photograph

By Ken Matsubara

Located in Surfside, FL

The size is as indicated here. the size on sticker is off. 1948 Born in Toyama Prefecture 1973 Dokuritsu Bijyutsu exhibition, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum Record of Awards 1977 Da...

Category

1980s Conceptual Art

Materials

C Print

Suicide Note, Framed Conceptual Art Piece Assemblage Collage
Suicide Note, Framed Conceptual Art Piece Assemblage Collage

Suicide Note, Framed Conceptual Art Piece Assemblage Collage

By Barton Lidice Benes

Located in Surfside, FL

Size is without frame Barton Benes (November 16, 1942 - Hackensack, New Jersey – May 30, 2012 - New York) was an artist who lived and worked in New York City. He studied at Pratt Ins...

Category

20th Century Conceptual Art

Materials

Mixed Media

Iain Baxter& "Reaching Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting
Iain Baxter& "Reaching Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting

Iain Baxter& "Reaching Landscape" Conceptual Monoprint Painting

By Iain Baxter

Located in Surfside, FL

Landscape with Ranch Fence in bright vibrant colors. Iain Baxter& (the artist recently added the ampersand to his name) is recognized as Canada’s pioneering conceptual artist. ...

Category

20th Century Conceptual Art

Materials

Mixed Media, Monoprint, Monotype

Fritz Horstman, Kannagawa Voices, 2015, Video
Fritz Horstman, Kannagawa Voices, 2015, Video

Fritz Horstman, Kannagawa Voices, 2015, Video

By Fritz Horstman

Located in Darien, CT

While working on a large building project several years ago the artist, Fritz Horstman was struck by the poetry in the unfinished state of the construction site. He was drawn specifically to the space between the plywood walls that were raised as formworks for the pouring of cement. That space could only exist for a few hours before the cement truck...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

Video

Conceptual art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Conceptual art 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 art 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 Reinhard Görner, Kojun, Jose Sierra, and xulong zhang. Frequently made by artists working with Paper, and Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Conceptual art, so small editions measuring 1 inches across are also available. Prices for art made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $45 and tops out at $500,000, while the average work sells for $2,465.