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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
Sign Of The Time - large scale photograph of conceptual motivational billboard
Sign Of The Time - large scale photograph of conceptual motivational billboard

Sign Of The Time - large scale photograph of conceptual motivational billboard

By Frank Schott

Located in San Francisco, CA

Large format photograph of a billboard signage in California desert landscape, from a series of conceptual motivational messages on iconic Americana roadside signs and billboards cap...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Giclée, Archival Pigment

Isabelle Carbonell "Kansas" Iconic Wizard of Oz Set of Four
Isabelle Carbonell "Kansas" Iconic Wizard of Oz Set of Four

Isabelle Carbonell "Kansas" Iconic Wizard of Oz Set of Four

Located in Detroit, MI

"Kansas" is one of a set of four digital prints whose titles were inspired by the iconic film The Wizard of Oz starring Judy Garland. The other three are titled: The Land of OZ, The ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Digital Pigment

Russian Samizdat Art Conceptual Compass Sculpture Assemblage Gerlovin, Gerlovina
Russian Samizdat Art Conceptual Compass Sculpture Assemblage Gerlovin, Gerlovina

Russian Samizdat Art Conceptual Compass Sculpture Assemblage Gerlovin, Gerlovina

By Rimma Gerlovina & Valeriy Gerlovin

Located in Surfside, FL

Rimma Gerlovina and Valeriy Gerlovin Compass, 1988 Aluminum sculpture, mixed media and c-print photograph construction, c-print, felt tip marker 12.5 h × 12.5w × 4 d in (30 × 30 × 6...

Category

1980s Conceptual Art

Materials

Metal

"Untitled 1.15" Photography 16' x 24' inch Edition of 15 by García De Marina

"Untitled 1.15" Photography 16' x 24' inch Edition of 15 by García De Marina

By García De Marina

Located in Culver City, CA

"Untitled 1.15" Photography 16' x 24' inch Edition of 15 by García De Marina García de Marina was born in Gijón (Spain) in 1975. He emerged thru a deep transformation in 2010. A do...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Digital Pigment

Human nature, Documentary analog photography, 118 x 78 cm, Fred Langford Edwards

Human nature, Documentary analog photography, 118 x 78 cm, Fred Langford Edwards

By Fred Langford Edwards

Located in Carballo, ES

Fred Langford Edwards turns what seems like documentary research (analogue photographs of curious objects that the artist finds on the beach) into an art of wonder. In this extensive...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Photographic Paper

Human nature, Documentary analog photography, 118 x 78 cm, Fred Langford Edwards

Human nature, Documentary analog photography, 118 x 78 cm, Fred Langford Edwards

By Fred Langford Edwards

Located in Carballo, ES

Fred Langford Edwards turns what seems like documentary research (analogue photographs of curious objects that the artist finds on the beach) into an art of wonder. In this extensive...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Photographic Paper

Human nature, Documentary analog photography, 118 x 78 cm, Fred Langford Edwards

Human nature, Documentary analog photography, 118 x 78 cm, Fred Langford Edwards

By Fred Langford Edwards

Located in Carballo, ES

Fred Langford Edwards turns what seems like documentary research (analogue photographs of curious objects that the artist finds on the beach) into an art of wonder. In this extensive...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Photographic Paper

Greek Temple, Pergamon Museum, Berlin

Greek Temple, Pergamon Museum, Berlin

By Reinhard Görner

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Greek Temple, Pergamon-Museum, Berlin 50 x 62.5 inches ed. of 10 $6,000 60 x 75 inches ed. of 7 $9,000 70 x 87.5 inches ed. of 5 $11,000 signed and numbered on label, verso Reinhard Görner, with his large format photographs orchestrates the monumentality of historical architecture, gardens, and masterpieces. An active architecture photographer since 1985, is a master of perspectives and precise spatial compositions, and he thus considers classical sculpture, in all of its possible facets, a special challenge. "Görner’s photographs sometimes open the doors to another world and take the viewer with them on a journey through time. Here the palace is no longer a museum but both royal residence and a site steeped in history. The viewer does not have to share the halls with the masses of visitors; instead the images offer him exclusive impressions of the Galerie des Glaces (Hall of Mirrors) and the Galerie des Batailles (Hall of Battles) as even the king of France was probably never granted. The halls are empty of people, yet they seem to be able to unfurl their individual characters of their own accord. These places practically breathe history, and this aspect is also part of the essence captured in the photographs. King Wilhelm of Prussia was named German Emperor Wilhelm...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Lambda

Post Soviet Russian Avant Garde Art Photograph Mixed Media Gum Bichromate Photo
Post Soviet Russian Avant Garde Art Photograph Mixed Media Gum Bichromate Photo

Post Soviet Russian Avant Garde Art Photograph Mixed Media Gum Bichromate Photo

By Igor Vishnyakov

Located in Surfside, FL

Igor Vishnyakov is a Russian Postwar & Contemporary artist who was born in 1968 in Moscow. Igor spent his childhood in Africa and Southeast Asia. After returning to Moscow in the mi...

Category

Early 2000s Conceptual Art

Materials

Mixed Media, Photographic Paper

Separate Walkways, Minimalist Etching by Robert Morris
Separate Walkways, Minimalist Etching by Robert Morris

Separate Walkways, Minimalist Etching by Robert Morris

By Robert Morris

Located in Long Island City, NY

Artist: Robert Morris, American (1931 - ) Title: Separate Walkways: The Wardens Above, the Inmates Below from In the Realm of the Carceral Year: 1979 Medium: Aquatint Etching, signed...

Category

1970s Conceptual Art

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

The Terminator By Artist Tyler Stout Arnold Schwarzenegger James Cameron Print
The Terminator By Artist Tyler Stout Arnold Schwarzenegger James Cameron Print

The Terminator By Artist Tyler Stout Arnold Schwarzenegger James Cameron Print

By Tyler Stout

Located in Draper, UT

The Terminator by Tytler Stout Silkscreed Print Arnold Schwarzenegger “I’ve found it works best to do stuff for movies you’re a fan of, movies that have stood the test of time, that are considered classics, stuff that inspires you,” Stout told io9 over email. “My movie fandom starts mainly in the 1980s since that was my childhood. Terminator is 1984, so it’s towards the beginning of that era, early Arnie, Lance Henriksen, Michael Biehn, James Cameron. Just seemed a more logical choice than, say, Terms of Endearment. Which will be [my] next poster. Part of our Debra Winger...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

Screen

MAYBE - large format photograph of conceptual motivational billboard at night
MAYBE - large format photograph of conceptual motivational billboard at night

MAYBE - large format photograph of conceptual motivational billboard at night

By Frank Schott

Located in San Francisco, CA

large scale photograph of a billboard signage against ultramarine blue night sky, from a series of conceptual motivational messages on iconic Americana roadside signs and billboards ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Giclée, Archival Ink

Fingerprint 3
Fingerprint 3

Fingerprint 3

By Jozef Bajus

Located in Buffalo, NY

An original mixed media woven paper and staple wall sculpture by Jozef Bajus. This work can be acquired in a shadow box frame presentation for an additional $350.

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Contemporary abstract portrait of women acrylic on canvas "Diversity in Unity"
Contemporary abstract portrait of women acrylic on canvas "Diversity in Unity"

Contemporary abstract portrait of women acrylic on canvas "Diversity in Unity"

By Mougenot Natalya

Located in VÉNISSIEUX, FR

This contemporary abstract painting de depicting a portrait of two women, titled "Diversity in Unity," was created by French artist Natalya Mougenot. The artwork explores the theme o...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night

Three Dog Night

By Michael Beam

Located in Buffalo, NY

The title for this work was inspired by the ruminations of Charles Manson in the 2010 publication Charles Manson NOW. “When you come to prison and you stay the fifteen years, all the dogs of the world are dead when you come back out, there is no dog that was a live when you were out last time. The three dog...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Acrylic, Canvas, Glitter, Spray Paint

Reinhard Görner 'Biblioteca del Senado, Madrid, Spain' (Library, Madrid)

Reinhard Görner 'Biblioteca del Senado, Madrid, Spain' (Library, Madrid)

By Reinhard Görner

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Reinhard Görner Biblioteca del Senado, Madrid 2017 59 x 50 inches ed. of 10 $6,000 71 x 60 inches ed. of 7 $9,000 83 x 70 inches ed. of 5 $11,000 signed and numbered on label, verso Paper is trimmed to the image: actual image size listed Internal Keywords: Reinhard Görner, Library series, Madrid, Spain, Large-Scale Photography, Large-scale German photography, Spanish Libraries, Spanish Monuments, Library Photography...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

C Print, Lambda

Cast Aside 1 -21st Century Contemporary, Figurative Portrait Africa Modern Woman
Cast Aside 1 -21st Century Contemporary, Figurative Portrait Africa Modern Woman

Cast Aside 1 -21st Century Contemporary, Figurative Portrait Africa Modern Woman

By Michael Adetula

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

The inspiration for this work was gotten from the view of some African parents, most of our African parents believe that earrings and dreadlocks are meant for ladies and when they ha...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Canvas, Charcoal, Mixed Media, Acrylic

Bestty - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Portrait, Women, Love, Floral
Bestty - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Portrait, Women, Love, Floral

Bestty - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Portrait, Women, Love, Floral

By Abayomi Odetomi

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...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic, Mixed Media, Oil

Viva - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Portrait of a Woman with Flowers
Viva - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Portrait of a Woman with Flowers

Viva - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Portrait of a Woman with Flowers

By Abayomi Odetomi

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...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Athena, Pergamon Museum, Berlin

Athena, Pergamon Museum, Berlin

By Reinhard Görner

Located in Los Angeles, CA

62.5 x 50 inches ed. of 10 $6,000 75 x 60 inches ed. of 5 $9,000 87.5 x 70 inches ed. of 5 $11,000 signed and numbered on label, verso Reinhard Görner, with his large format phot...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Lambda

Duke Humfrey's Library I, Oxford, England
Duke Humfrey's Library I, Oxford, England

Duke Humfrey's Library I, Oxford, England

By Reinhard Görner

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Duke Humfrey's Library I 54.2 x 50 inches ed. of 10 $6,000 65.1 x 60 inches ed. of 7 $9,000 75.9 x 70 inches ed. of 5 $11,000 signed and numbered on label, verso Paper is trimme...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

C Print, Lambda

Piazza San Marco, Italy, Architectural Photograph
Piazza San Marco, Italy, Architectural Photograph

Piazza San Marco, Italy, Architectural Photograph

By Reinhard Görner

Located in Los Angeles, CA

60 x 40 inches ed. of 10 $6,000 75 x 50 inches ed. of 7 $9,000 90 x 60 inches ed. of 5 $11,000 signed and numbered on label, verso Reinhard Görner, with his large format photogra...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Archival Pigment

"Untitled 8.20" Photography 24' x 35' inch Edition of 10 by García De Marina

"Untitled 8.20" Photography 24' x 35' inch Edition of 10 by García De Marina

By García De Marina

Located in Culver City, CA

"Untitled 8.20" Photography 24' x 35' inch Edition of 10 by García De Marina Signed and numbered by the artist Comes with COA issued by the artist García de Marina was born in Gijó...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Digital Pigment

"Untitled 3.16" Photography 24' x 16' inch Edition of 15 by García De Marina

"Untitled 3.16" Photography 24' x 16' inch Edition of 15 by García De Marina

By García De Marina

Located in Culver City, CA

"Untitled 3.16" Photography 24' x 16' inch Edition 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 Gijó...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Digital Pigment

Twilight's 034, Danse Macabre - A skeletal Oak tree - Landscpae
Twilight's 034, Danse Macabre - A skeletal Oak tree - Landscpae

Twilight's 034, Danse Macabre - A skeletal Oak tree - Landscpae

By Jasper Goodall

Located in London, GB

A skeletal oak, starved of light by the surrounding fir trees still holds its twisted limbs up towards the light as if frozen in its death throes. "I want to bring a sense of unfamiliarity into the images; to present commonplace nature in a peculiar way. This is, in part, a reaction against our over sanitised and conditioned lives. The night forest is devoid of people. It is an undomesticated wilderness right on our doorstep." - Jasper Goodall...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Color

Hope From Above -21st Century Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Woman, Modern
Hope From Above -21st Century Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Woman, Modern

Hope From Above -21st Century Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Woman, Modern

By Michael Adetula

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 Mic...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Canvas, Charcoal, Mixed Media, Acrylic

Abeni (We Prayed for Her and She Arrived) -21st Century, Contemporary Figurative
Abeni (We Prayed for Her and She Arrived) -21st Century, Contemporary Figurative

Abeni (We Prayed for Her and She Arrived) -21st Century, Contemporary Figurative

By Oluwatobiloba Amusan

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

Shipping Procedure FREE Shipping Worldwide Ships in a well-protected tube. This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. The ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Paper, Ink, Acrylic

Radiance of Joy 1 - 21st Century, Contemporary, African, Women, Happily Smiling
Radiance of Joy 1 - 21st Century, Contemporary, African, Women, Happily Smiling

Radiance of Joy 1 - 21st Century, Contemporary, African, Women, Happily Smiling

By Bakare Abubakri-sideeq Babatunde

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

Shipping Procedure FREE Shipping Worldwide 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 Authen...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Fabric, Canvas, Oil, Acrylic, Mixed Media

Unknown Soldier - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Military, Veteran, Men
Unknown Soldier - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Military, Veteran, Men

Unknown Soldier - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Military, Veteran, Men

By Makama John

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

Shipping Procedure FREE Shipping Worldwide 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 Authent...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Canvas, Charcoal, Oil, Acrylic

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.