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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
Survival Pencils
Survival Pencils

Survival Pencils

By Jenny Holzer

Located in Toronto, Ontario

Jenny Holzer's menacing "Truisms" first appeared in 1983 when the artist was invited to participate in a group show exploring the themes and dialogue from George Orwell's "1984". O...

Category

1990s Conceptual Art

Materials

Pencil

Chair Swirl Plant, Etching by Donald Saff
Chair Swirl Plant, Etching by Donald Saff

Chair Swirl Plant, Etching by Donald Saff

By Donald Saff

Located in Long Island City, NY

Chair Swirl Plant Donald Saff, American (1937) Date: circa 1980 Aquatint Etching, signed and numbered in pencil Edition of 50 Image Size: 24 x 18.5 inches Size: 39 in. x 27.5 in. (99...

Category

1980s Conceptual Art

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

Game of Life
Game of Life

Michael AdetulaGame of Life, 2023

$1,480Sale Price|20% Off

Game of Life

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

In this game of life, we fiercely strive, Chasing dreams, hoping to survive. Each step we take, is a move on the board, Sometimes rewarded, sometimes ignored. We start with a roll of...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Canvas, Charcoal, Mixed Media, Acrylic

The Beef Sisters - May - Unique Polaroid - Contemporary, Youth, Photograph
The Beef Sisters - May - Unique Polaroid - Contemporary, Youth, Photograph

The Beef Sisters - May - Unique Polaroid - Contemporary, Youth, Photograph

Located in Morongo Valley, CA

The Beef Sisters A Polaroid-based art series by Kris 'Curtiz' De Meester May - 2023 Original Polaroid, mixed media. 10.7 x 8.8 cm (total), 7.8 x 7.6 cm (image area). Signed in fr...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

Polaroid

The Beef Sisters - Kate - Unique Polaroid - Contemporary, Youth, Photograph
The Beef Sisters - Kate - Unique Polaroid - Contemporary, Youth, Photograph

The Beef Sisters - Kate - Unique Polaroid - Contemporary, Youth, Photograph

Located in Morongo Valley, CA

The Beef Sisters A Polaroid-based art series by Kris 'Curtiz' De Meester Kate - 2023 Original Polaroid, mixed media. 10.7 x 8.8 cm (total), 7.8 x 7.6 cm (image area). Signed in f...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

Polaroid

The Beef Sisters - Ella - Unique Polaroid - Contemporary, Youth, Photograph
The Beef Sisters - Ella - Unique Polaroid - Contemporary, Youth, Photograph

The Beef Sisters - Ella - Unique Polaroid - Contemporary, Youth, Photograph

Located in Morongo Valley, CA

The Beef Sisters A Polaroid-based art series by Kris 'Curtiz' De Meester Ella - 2023 Original Polaroid, mixed media. 10.7 x 8.8 cm (total), 7.8 x 7.6 cm (image area). Signed in f...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

Polaroid

The Beef Sisters - Emily - Unique Polaroid - Contemporary, Youth, Photograph
The Beef Sisters - Emily - Unique Polaroid - Contemporary, Youth, Photograph

The Beef Sisters - Emily - Unique Polaroid - Contemporary, Youth, Photograph

Located in Morongo Valley, CA

The Beef Sisters A Polaroid-based art series by Kris 'Curtiz' De Meester Emily - 2023 Original Polaroid, mixed media. 10.7 x 8.8 cm (total), 7.8 x 7.6 cm (image area). Signed in ...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

Polaroid

Rose Main Reading Room (New York Public Library)
Rose Main Reading Room (New York Public Library)

Rose Main Reading Room (New York Public Library)

By Reinhard Görner

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Rose Main Reading Room, 2014 Public Library New York 70 x 88.9 inches Ed. of 5 $11,000 60 x 76.2 inches Ed. of 7 $9,000 50 x 63.5 Ed. of 10 $6,000 signed and numbered on label, v...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Lambda

Singapore Stamp Collection, 30c Singapore Orchid Purple - Floral color photo
Singapore Stamp Collection, 30c Singapore Orchid Purple - Floral color photo

Singapore Stamp Collection, 30c Singapore Orchid Purple - Floral color photo

By Heidler & Heeps

Located in Cambridge, GB

30 Cents Singapore Orchid Purple, from the Heidler & Heeps Stamp Collection. This historic postage stamps that make up the Heidler & Heeps Stamp Collection, Singapore Series 'Postcards from Afar' have been given a twenty-first century pop art lease of life. The fine detailed tapestry of the original small postage stamp has been brought to life, made unique by the franking stamp and Heidler & Heeps specialist darkroom process. This artwork is a limited edition of 25 gloss photographic c-print, dry-mounted to aluminium, presented in a museum board white window mount and a choice of black or white box frame fitted with anti-reflective UV70% glass. It is signed and numbered on reverse accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. This artwork is available in other sizes. Be sure to look at Heidler & Heeps other artworks listed on 1stDibs as they are great paired for interior design projects. Following on from the hugely successful ‘Vinyl Collection’, Natasha Heidler & Richard Heeps have collaborated again, drawing from the childhood past time of stamp collecting...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin

Singapore Stamp Collection, 30c Singapore Orchid Green - Floral color photo
Singapore Stamp Collection, 30c Singapore Orchid Green - Floral color photo

Singapore Stamp Collection, 30c Singapore Orchid Green - Floral color photo

By Heidler & Heeps

Located in Cambridge, GB

30 Cents Singapore Orchid Green, from the Heidler & Heeps Stamp Collection. This historic postage stamps that make up the Heidler & Heeps Stamp Collection, Singapore Series 'Postcards from Afar' have been given a twenty-first century pop art lease of life. The fine detailed tapestry of the original small postage stamp has been brought to life, made unique by the franking stamp and Heidler & Heeps specialist darkroom process. This artwork is a limited edition of 25 gloss photographic c-print, dry-mounted to aluminium, presented in a museum board white window mount and a choice of black or white box frame fitted with anti-reflective UV70% glass. It is signed and numbered on reverse accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. This artwork is available in other sizes. Be sure to look at Heidler & Heeps other artworks listed on 1stDibs as they are great paired for interior design projects. Following on from the hugely successful ‘Vinyl Collection’, Natasha Heidler & Richard Heeps have collaborated again, drawing from the childhood past time of stamp collecting...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin

Singapore Stamp Collection, 30c Singapore Orchid Yellow - Floral color photo
Singapore Stamp Collection, 30c Singapore Orchid Yellow - Floral color photo

Singapore Stamp Collection, 30c Singapore Orchid Yellow - Floral color photo

By Heidler & Heeps

Located in Cambridge, GB

30 Cents Singapore Orchid Yellow, from the Heidler & Heeps Stamp Collection. This historic postage stamps that make up the Heidler & Heeps Stamp Collection, Singapore Series 'Postcar...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin

The Beef Sisters - Mika - Unique Polaroids - Contemporary, Youth, Photograph
The Beef Sisters - Mika - Unique Polaroids - Contemporary, Youth, Photograph

The Beef Sisters - Mika - Unique Polaroids - Contemporary, Youth, Photograph

Located in Morongo Valley, CA

The Beef Sisters A Polaroid-based art series by Kris 'Curtiz' De Meester Mika - 2023 Original Polaroids, mixed media. 10.7 x 8.8 cm (total), 7.8 x 7.6 cm (image area). Signed in ...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

Polaroid

The Beef Sisters - Page - Unique Polaroids - Contemporary, Youth, Photograph
The Beef Sisters - Page - Unique Polaroids - Contemporary, Youth, Photograph

The Beef Sisters - Page - Unique Polaroids - Contemporary, Youth, Photograph

Located in Morongo Valley, CA

The Beef Sisters A Polaroid-based art series by Kris 'Curtiz' De Meester Page - 2023 Original Polaroids, mixed media. 10.7 x 8.8 cm (total), 7.8 x 7.6 cm (image area). Signed in ...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

Polaroid

The Beef Sisters - Pip - Unique Polaroids - Contemporary, Youth, Photograph
The Beef Sisters - Pip - Unique Polaroids - Contemporary, Youth, Photograph

The Beef Sisters - Pip - Unique Polaroids - Contemporary, Youth, Photograph

Located in Morongo Valley, CA

The Beef Sisters A Polaroid-based art series by Kris 'Curtiz' De Meester Pip - 2023 Original Polaroids, mixed media. 10.7 x 8.8 cm (total), 7.8 x 7.6 cm (image area). Signed in f...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

Polaroid

Sisters in Yellow 1
Sisters in Yellow 1

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...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Deborah
Deborah

Oluwafemi AfolabiDeborah, 2023

$2,400Sale Price|20% Off

Deborah

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

"Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell and got back up again." I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. “The peasantry ceased, they ceas...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

The Beef Sisters - Ella and May - 16 unique Polaroids
The Beef Sisters - Ella and May - 16 unique Polaroids

The Beef Sisters - Ella and May - 16 unique Polaroids

Located in Morongo Valley, CA

The Beef Sisters A Polaroid-based art series by Kris 'Curtiz' De Meester Ella and May - 2023 16 original Polaroids, mixed media. 50x50cm installed. Signed in front. "The Beef S...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

Polaroid

The Beef Sisters - Sophie - 16 unique Polaroids
The Beef Sisters - Sophie - 16 unique Polaroids

The Beef Sisters - Sophie - 16 unique Polaroids

Located in Morongo Valley, CA

The Beef Sisters A Polaroid-based art series by Kris 'Curtiz' De Meester Sophie - 2023 16 original Polaroids, mixed media. 50x50cm installed. Signed in front. "The Beef Sisters...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

Polaroid

The Beef Sisters - Sui - 16 unique Polaroids
The Beef Sisters - Sui - 16 unique Polaroids

The Beef Sisters - Sui - 16 unique Polaroids

Located in Morongo Valley, CA

The Beef Sisters A Polaroid-based art series by Kris 'Curtiz' De Meester Sui - 2023 16 original Polaroids, mixed media. 50x50cm installed. Signed in front. "The Beef Sisters" i...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

Polaroid

A walk. Oil on canvas, 80x81 cm
A walk. Oil on canvas, 80x81 cm

A walk. Oil on canvas, 80x81 cm

Located in Riga, LV

A walk Oil on canvas, 80x81 cm Victor Karnaukh (1950, Dnepropetrovsk Oblast, Ukrainian SSR – 2012, Dnepropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine) – a painter, a monument designer, graduate of Lat...

Category

1990s Conceptual Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Wooden Elegance
Wooden Elegance

Wooden Elegance

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 (Issued by...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Red Lips, Kowloon, Hong Kong - Pop art color photography
Red Lips, Kowloon, Hong Kong - Pop art color photography

Red Lips, Kowloon, Hong Kong - Pop art color photography

By Richard Heeps

Located in Cambridge, GB

Red Lips, part of Richard's 2016 Hong Kong series, this street photography artwork captures the essence of Kowloon. The bold typography makes cool original pop art. The artwork is a...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin

Reinhard Görner 'Inter Arma Charitas' Lisbon, Portugal

Reinhard Görner 'Inter Arma Charitas' Lisbon, Portugal

By Reinhard Görner

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Reinhard Görner Inter Arma Charitas Lisbon, Portugal 2014 50 x 50 inches ed. of 10 $6,000 60 x 60 inches ed. of 7 $9,000 70 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 Search: Reinhard Görner, Library series, Halle, Germany, Large-Scale Photography, Large-scale German photography, German Libraries, German Monuments...

Category

2010s Conceptual Art

Materials

C Print, Lambda

African American Large Vintage Color Photograph Dandy C Print Photo Ike Ude
African American Large Vintage Color Photograph Dandy C Print Photo Ike Ude

African American Large Vintage Color Photograph Dandy C Print Photo Ike Ude

By Iké Udé

Located in Surfside, FL

BEYOND DECORUM, CLOSED AND OPEN Series, I am selling each individually. they are pairs of open and closed jackets. I will include the second photo for reference. This listing is just for the closed jacket photograph. Vintage C-print on Fuji crystal archive paper. Image size is 40 x 30", sheet measures 50 X 36 Provenance: printed by Muse X, Los Angeles. I believe these were test, proof prints. They are not signed or editioned The work of Nigerian-born Iké Udé explores a world of dualities: photographer/performance artist, artist/spectator, African/post-nationalist, mainstream/marginal, individual/everyman and fashion/art. Iké Udé (born 1964) is a Nigerian-American photographer, performance artist, Ike Ude was born in 1964 in Lagos, Nigeria where he was raised. The eldest son of a wealthy family, he was exposed to photography and portraiture at an early age by dressing up for biweekly family portraits. Udé knew he was an artist by the age of six, when he developed a habit of firing a catapult at passers-by when he disapproved of their walk or the way they were dressed. As an adolescent, Udé attended the Government Secondary School, a British boarding school in Afikpo Nigeria. He was a habitué of London before he moved to New York in 1981 to study Media Communications at Hunter College, CUNY. He began his art career in the late 1980s with abstract painting and drawing. Since the 1990s, photography has been his primary medium. Udé is a dual citizen of the United States and Nigeria. Udé's paintings and drawings are less well known than his photography, though critics and art historians have recognized his early work. The late Henry Geldzahler, said of Udé's paintings and works on paper: "I am touched and amazed at the ways in which he manages to blend invisibly the modernist tradition with his own Nigerian roots. There is never anything forced in the conjunction; air and light seem to be his media." Udé began his Cover Girls series in 1994. Each photograph imitates the cover of a popular fashion or lifestyle magazines, in which the artist himself is featured as the model. (ala the work of Cindy Sherman) The photographs were consciously stylized, posed, photographed and then paired with type matching that of the respected magazine. At first glance, each photograph appears to be an authentic magazine cover. Udé used the magazine cover as a stage to critique the fetishism of the upper class white model and the effects of popular culture on today's consumerist society. The series was exhibited in 1994 in the New York City gallery Exit Art. Udé's black and white series of photographs, Uli, references both high fashion and Uli body art, wall motifs from Udé's Igbo heritage. The photographs explore the anonymity of the inscribed and disembodied self. Udé's dynamic use of light, namely the chiaroscuro effect, serves as a critical compositional element in the series. Udé's Beyond Decorum series, begun in 1999, juxtaposes photographs of men's shirts and women's pumps with suggestive personal advertisements in place of the clothing tags. With its accompanying book, Beyond Decorum: Photographs by Iké Udé, the series traveled across the United States and Canada. The exhibition was shown at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Portland, Maine; OBORO in Montreal, Canada; Sert Gallery; Carpenter Center at the Harvard University Art Museum; and MAK Museum in Vienna, Austria before traveling for two more years internationally. Udé's Paris Hilton: Fantasy and Simulacrum is a conversation between his alter ego, Visconti, and the celebrity Paris...

Category

1990s Conceptual Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, C Print, Color

My Father's Car 2
My Father's Car 2

My Father's Car 2

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

"My Father's Car" is a striking artwork created by Desmond Akindoju, depicting a young man sitting in a car as though he's the driver, complete with a...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

African American Large Vintage Color Photograph Dandy C Print Photo Ike Ude
African American Large Vintage Color Photograph Dandy C Print Photo Ike Ude

African American Large Vintage Color Photograph Dandy C Print Photo Ike Ude

By Iké Udé

Located in Surfside, FL

BEYOND DECORUM, CLOSED AND OPEN Series, I am selling each individually. they are pairs of open and closed jackets. I will include the second photo for reference. This listing is just for the open jacket photograph. Vintage C-print on Fuji crystal archive paper. Image size is 40 x 30", sheet measures 50 X 35 Provenance: printed by Muse X, Los Angeles. I believe these were test, proof prints. They are not signed or editioned The work of Nigerian-born Iké Udé explores a world of dualities: photographer/performance artist, artist/spectator, African/post-nationalist, mainstream/marginal, individual/everyman and fashion/art. Iké Udé (born 1964) is a Nigerian-American photographer, performance artist, Ike Ude was born in 1964 in Lagos, Nigeria where he was raised. The eldest son of a wealthy family, he was exposed to photography and portraiture at an early age by dressing up for biweekly family portraits. Udé knew he was an artist by the age of six, when he developed a habit of firing a catapult at passers-by when he disapproved of their walk or the way they were dressed. As an adolescent, Udé attended the Government Secondary School, a British boarding school in Afikpo Nigeria. He was a habitué of London before he moved to New York in 1981 to study Media Communications at Hunter College, CUNY. He began his art career in the late 1980s with abstract painting and drawing. Since the 1990s, photography has been his primary medium. Udé is a dual citizen of the United States and Nigeria. Udé's paintings and drawings are less well known than his photography, though critics and art historians have recognized his early work. The late Henry Geldzahler, said of Udé's paintings and works on paper: "I am touched and amazed at the ways in which he manages to blend invisibly the modernist tradition with his own Nigerian roots. There is never anything forced in the conjunction; air and light seem to be his media." Udé began his Cover Girls series in 1994. Each photograph imitates the cover of a popular fashion or lifestyle magazines, in which the artist himself is featured as the model. (ala the work of Cindy Sherman) The photographs were consciously stylized, posed, photographed and then paired with type matching that of the respected magazine. At first glance, each photograph appears to be an authentic magazine cover. Udé used the magazine cover as a stage to critique the fetishism of the upper class white model and the effects of popular culture on today's consumerist society. The series was exhibited in 1994 in the New York City gallery Exit Art. Udé's black and white series of photographs, Uli, references both high fashion and Uli body art, wall motifs from Udé's Igbo heritage. The photographs explore the anonymity of the inscribed and disembodied self. Udé's dynamic use of light, namely the chiaroscuro effect, serves as a critical compositional element in the series. Udé's Beyond Decorum series, begun in 1999, juxtaposes photographs of men's shirts and women's pumps with suggestive personal advertisements in place of the clothing tags. With its accompanying book, Beyond Decorum: Photographs by Iké Udé, the series traveled across the United States and Canada. The exhibition was shown at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Portland, Maine; OBORO in Montreal, Canada; Sert Gallery; Carpenter Center at the Harvard University Art Museum; and MAK Museum in Vienna, Austria before traveling for two more years internationally. Udé's Paris Hilton: Fantasy and Simulacrum is a conversation between his alter ego, Visconti, and the celebrity Paris...

Category

1990s Conceptual Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, C Print, Color

Letter P ( 48 x 71" / 122 x 188cm )
Letter P ( 48 x 71" / 122 x 188cm )

Letter P ( 48 x 71" / 122 x 188cm )

By Christian Stoll

Located in San Francisco, CA

LETTER P by Christian Stoll large scale conceptual photography playing with viewer's perspective incredible details in this body of work, a series of environmental stills playing w...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment

Letter O ( 48 x 71" / 122 x 188cm )
Letter O ( 48 x 71" / 122 x 188cm )

Letter O ( 48 x 71" / 122 x 188cm )

By Christian Stoll

Located in San Francisco, CA

LETTER O by Christian Stoll large scale conceptual photography playing with viewer's perspective incredible details in this body of work, a series of environmental stills playing w...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Art

Materials

Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment

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.