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.
Untitled I, Conceptual Intaglio by Shlomo Koren
By Shlomo Koren
Located in Long Island City, NY
Shlomo Koren, German/Israeli (1932 - ) - Untitled I, Year: 1970, Medium: Intaglio, signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 15, Size: 26 x 20 in. (66.04 x 50.8 cm)
Intaglio
$600
Tree Trunk Series - Green II, Conceptual Hand-Colored Lithograph by Alan Sonfist
By Alan Sonfist
Located in Long Island City, NY
Alan Sonfist, American (1946 - ) - Tree Trunk Series - Green II, Year: 1980, Medium: Lithograph with hand-coloring, signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 300, Image Size: 20.5 ...
Lithograph
Tree Trunk Series - Yellow, Conceptual Lithograph by Alan Sonfist
By Alan Sonfist
Located in Long Island City, NY
Alan Sonfist, American (1946 - ) - Tree Trunk Series - Yellow, Year: 1980, Medium: Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 300, Image Size: 20.5 x 20.5 inches, Size: ...
Lithograph
Earth Series 3, Conceptual Lithograph by Alan Sonfist
By Alan Sonfist
Located in Long Island City, NY
Alan Sonfist, American (1946 - ) - Earth Series 3, Year: 1980, Medium: Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 300, Image Size: 24 x 18 inches, Size: 30 in. x 22 in....
Lithograph
Earth Series 1, Conceptual Lithograph by Alan Sonfist
By Alan Sonfist
Located in Long Island City, NY
Alan Sonfist, American (1946 - ) - Earth Series 1, Year: 1980, Medium: Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 300, AP, Image Size: 24 x 18 inches, Size: 30 x 22 in...
Lithograph
Earth Series 2, Conceptual Lithograph by Alan Sonfist
By Alan Sonfist
Located in Long Island City, NY
Alan Sonfist, American (1946 - ) - Earth Series 2, Year: 1980, Medium: Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 300, Image Size: 24 x 18 inches, Size: 30 x 22 in. (7...
Lithograph
Texture 3, Conceptual Lithograph with Photo-Collage by Alan Sonfist
By Alan Sonfist
Located in Long Island City, NY
Alan Sonfist, American (1946 - ) - Texture 3, Year: 1980, Medium: Lithograph with Photo-Collage, signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 251/300, Image Size: 20 x 28 inches, Size...
Mixed Media, Lithograph
Texture 2, Conceptual Lithograph with Photo-Collage by Alan Sonfist
By Alan Sonfist
Located in Long Island City, NY
Alan Sonfist, American (1946 - ) - Texture 2, Year: 1980, Medium: Lithograph with Photo-Collage, signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 201/300, Image Size: 20 x 28 inches, Size...
Mixed Media, Lithograph
Untitled - Frost, Conceptual Lithograph by Alan Sonfist
By Alan Sonfist
Located in Long Island City, NY
Alan Sonfist, American (1946 - ) - Untitled - Frost, Medium: Lithograph, Size: 24 x 35 in. (60.96 x 88.9 cm)
Lithograph
Texture 1, Conceptual Lithograph with Photo-Collage by Alan Sonfist
By Alan Sonfist
Located in Long Island City, NY
Alan Sonfist, American (1946 - ) - Texture 1, Year: 1980, Medium: Lithograph with Photo-Collage, signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 3/300, Image Size: 20x28 inches, Size: 2...
Mixed Media, Lithograph
Tree Trunk Series - Orange, Conceptual Lithograph by Alan Sonfist
By Alan Sonfist
Located in Long Island City, NY
Alan Sonfist, American (1946 - ) - Tree Trunk Series - Orange, Year: 1980, Medium: Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 300, Image Size: 20.5 x 20.5 inches, Size: ...
Lithograph
Tree Trunk Series - Pink I, Conceptual Lithograph by Alan Sonfist
By Alan Sonfist
Located in Long Island City, NY
Alan Sonfist, American (1946 - ) - Tree Trunk Series - Pink I, Year: 1980, Medium: Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 300, Image Size: 20.5 x 20.5 inches, Size: ...
Lithograph
Nebula, Conceptual Lithograph by Alan Sonfist
By Alan Sonfist
Located in Long Island City, NY
Alan Sonfist, American (1946 - ) - Nebula, Year: circa 1980, Medium: Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 2/300, Image Size: 20 x 27.5 inches, Size: 22 x 30 in. ...
Lithograph
Lie Detector Test, Conceptual Ink and Collage on Paper by Shlomo Koren
Located in Long Island City, NY
Shlomo Koren, German/Israeli (1932 - ) - Untitled - Lie Detector Test, Year: 1970, Medium: Ink and Collage on Paper, Size: 23 x 29 in. (58.42 x 73.66 cm)
Ink, Mixed Media
Untitled 2, Conceptual Intaglio by Shlomo Koren
By Shlomo Koren
Located in Long Island City, NY
Shlomo Koren, German/Israeli (1932 - ) - Untitled 2, Year: 1970, Medium: Intaglio, signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 80, Size: 22.5 x 30 in. (57.15 x 76.2 cm)
Intaglio
Untitled, Conceptual Intaglio by Shlomo Koren
By Shlomo Koren
Located in Long Island City, NY
Shlomo Koren, German/Israeli (1932 - ) - Untitled, Year: 1970, Medium: Intaglio, signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 15, Size: 26 x 20 in. (66.04 x 50.8 cm)
Intaglio
Untitled VII, Conceptual Intaglio by Shlomo Koren
By Shlomo Koren
Located in Long Island City, NY
Shlomo Koren, German/Israeli (1932 - ) - Untitled VII, Year: 1970, Medium: Intaglio, signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 15, Size: 26 x 20 in. (66.04 x 50.8 cm)
Intaglio
Untitled IV, Conceptual Intaglio by Shlomo Koren
By Shlomo Koren
Located in Long Island City, NY
Shlomo Koren, German/Israeli (1932 - ) - Untitled IV, Year: 1970, Medium: Intaglio, signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 15, Size: 26 x 20 in. (66.04 x 50.8 cm)
Intaglio
Untitled II, Conceptual Intaglio by Shlomo Koren
By Shlomo Koren
Located in Long Island City, NY
Shlomo Koren, German/Israeli (1932 - ) - Untitled II, Year: 1970, Medium: Intaglio, signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 15, Size: 26 x 20 in. (66.04 x 50.8 cm)
Intaglio
Untitled III, Conceptual Intaglio by Shlomo Koren
By Shlomo Koren
Located in Long Island City, NY
Shlomo Koren, German/Israeli (1932 - ) - Untitled III, Year: 1970, Medium: Intaglio, signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 15, Size: 26 x 20 in. (66.04 x 50.8 cm)
Intaglio
$800Sale Price|57% Off
East of Lancaster, CA by Robbert Flick, 1981, Silver Gelatin Print, Photography
By Robbert Flick
Located in Denton, TX
East of Lancaster, CA by Robbert Flick 16 x 20 in. Silver gelatin print. From Robbert Flick's Sequential Views series from America Roads Portfolio. Signed, titled and dated by Robbert Flick. This print features 49 small images of black and white landscapes presented in a grid. Each image measures 1 5/8 x 2 1/8 inches. Robbert Flick, Professor Emeritus, is a Southern California artist who uses photography as his primary medium. He has been exhibiting his photographs for over 50 years and his work has been shown and collected by numerous private and public venues both nationally and internationally. He is the recipient of multiple fellowships and in 2001 was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in Creative Arts. The retrospective Robbert Flick: Trajectorieswas shown at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2004 accompanied by a comprehensive exhibition catalog co-published by LACMA and Steidl. In 2016 Nazraeli Press published “Robbert Flick LA Diary”. He is represented by ROSE Gallery in Santa Monica and Robert Mann...
Silver Gelatin
Lawrence Weiner, Wir sind keine Enten auf dem Teich - 1990, Signed Print
Located in Hamburg, DE
Lawrence Weiner (1942-2021) Wir sind keine Enten auf dem Teich, wir sind Schiffe auf dem Meer, 1990 Medium: Screenprint on Bistrol card Dimensions: 35.5 x 70.5 cm (14 x 27.8 in) Edit...
Screen
The Magic Sign - Lithograph by Giuliano Sturli - 1976
Located in Roma, IT
The magic sign is a lithograph realized by Giuliano Sturli in 1976 Hand-signed and dated on the lower margin. Numbered of the lower left. Edition of 50. Original title: Il seg...
Lithograph
Les Indestinés, Charcoal, Black & White Drawing, Wave, Sea
Located in AIX-EN-PROVENCE, FR
Work : Original Drawing, Handmade Artwork, Unique Work. Medium : Charcoal and Graphite on Archival Watercolour paper 300Gsm. Artist : Fabien Granet Subject : Les Indestinés (series ...
Charcoal, Archival Paper, Graphite
Virtual Reality 30 X 25
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Each of Heriberto Mora's paintings has a story for the viewer to imagine. Heriberto Mora was born in Havana, Cuba. He graduated from the San Alejandro National Academy of Fine Arts ...
Canvas, Oil
Japanese Contemporary Art By Kojun - Mujo Silver
By Kojun
Located in Paris, IDF
Cardboard, silver leaf, gilder’s bole This work was created for an exhibit as part of the artistic unit SHIKŌ, a collaborative effort between sculptors Kanji Hasegawa, Isaji Yugo, a...
Silver
Habitat, Conceptual Hand-Colored Etching with Collage by James Coignard
Located in Long Island City, NY
James Coignard, French (1925 - 2008) - Habitat, Portfolio: Song of the Broad-Axe, Year: 1982, Medium: Hand Colored Etching with Collage on hand-made Moulin de Larroque paper, sign...
Mixed Media, Etching
$523
"Chromatic Explosion n. 8" by Corrado Ferrante, original, mixed media on paper
Located in Milano, MI
"Chromatic Explosion n. 8" - Dynamic Abstract Composition by Corrado Ferrante A captivating burst of energy radiates from this vibrant abstract work by Italian artist Corrado Ferran...
Paper, Mixed Media, Oil
Japanese Contemporary Art By Kojun - Shiko 17
There has been a failure on teh Interwebz
Located in New York, NY
There has been a failure on the Interwebz Patrick is a conceptual artist, curator, and theorist exploring how media shape our perception of reality as well as the borders between ...
Tapestry
Joseph Beuys, Order
By Joseph Beuys
Located in Hamburg, DE
Joseph Beuys (German, 1921-1986) Order, 1973 Medium: Order card, stamped Sheet dimensions: 15 x 10.5 cm Frame dimensions: 25.5 x 21.1 x 3 cm Edition of 120: Hand-signed and numbered ...
Offset
Wren Library, Cambridge, England, German Interior Architecture Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A masterpiece of Baroque symmetry and intellectual grandeur, Reinhard Görner’s Wren Library, Cambridge captures the timeless elegance of one of Brita...
C Print, Lambda
RIC: Random Internet Cat #9
Located in New York, NY
Random Internet Cats Robotically-fabricated drawings on paper, these series formally deal with mediation from screen image to ‘drawing’ while using a computer-controlled pen plotte...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper
$465Sale Price|20% Off
The Night 2 - Photolithograph by Claudio Cintoli - 1970s
Located in Roma, IT
The Night 2 is an original photolithograph realized by Claudio Cintoli (Imola, 1935 – Rome, 1978) in the end of the '70s. Conceptual work of the artist. Signed and numbered by the ...
Lithograph
Reginald and Perrin 9: Conceptual Oil Painting, 2010s, Unframed
Located in BARCELONA, ES
"Pinté por primera vez estas obras porque no sabía qué pintar o qué podría pintarse. Se trata, ciertamente, de un comienzo desdichado que no conduce a nada significativo. Sin embargo...
Oil
Reginald and Perrin 2: Conceptual Oil Painting, Unframed, 2010+
Located in BARCELONA, ES
"Pinté por primera vez estas obras porque no sabía qué pintar o qué podría pintarse. Se trata, ciertamente, de un comienzo desdichado que no conduce a nada significativo. Sin embargo...
Oil
Reginald and Perrin 22: Conceptual Oil Painting, Unframed, 27x35 cm
Located in BARCELONA, ES
"Pinté por primera vez estas obras porque no sabía qué pintar o qué podría pintarse. Se trata, ciertamente, de un comienzo desdichado que no conduce a nada significativo. Sin embargo...
Oil
Reginald and Perrin 24: Conceptual Oil Painting, Unframed, 27x35 cm
Located in BARCELONA, ES
"Pinté por primera vez estas obras porque no sabía qué pintar o qué podría pintarse. Se trata, ciertamente, de un comienzo desdichado que no conduce a nada significativo. Sin embargo...
Oil
Reginald and Perrin 26: Conceptual Oil Painting, Unframed, 2010+
Located in BARCELONA, ES
"Pinté por primera vez estas obras porque no sabía qué pintar o qué podría pintarse. Se trata, ciertamente, de un comienzo desdichado que no conduce a nada significativo. Sin embargo...
Oil
Nippur Temple - Etching by Walter Valentini - 1976
Located in Roma, IT
Nippur Temple is a colored etching realized by the contemporary artist Walter Valentini in 1976. Hand-signed in pencil on the lower center. Numbered...
Etching
Nippur Temple - Original Etching by Walter Valentini - 1976
Located in Roma, IT
Nippur Temple is a colored etching realized by the contemporary artist Walter Valentini in 1976. Hand-signed in pencil on the lower right. Numbered ...
Etching
$2,800
Out of Nowhere, Secret World of Plants, German Macro Botanical Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
In Out of Nowhere, part of Reinhard Görner's Secret World of Plants series, the delicate interplay of deep purples, vibrant greens, and soft-focus backgrounds creates an evocative an...
C Print, Lambda
$4,050
Out of Nowhere, Secret World of Plants, German Macro Botanical Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
In Out of Nowhere, part of Reinhard Görner's Secret World of Plants series, the delicate interplay of deep purples, vibrant greens, and soft-focus backgrounds creates an evocative an...
C Print, Lambda
$5,300
Out of Nowhere, Secret World of Plants, German Macro Botanical Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
In Out of Nowhere, part of Reinhard Görner's Secret World of Plants series, the delicate interplay of deep purples, vibrant greens, and soft-focus backgrounds creates an evocative an...
C Print, Lambda
Untitled Self-Portrait (Cherie Hiser), from the New Mexico Portfolio
By Cherie Hiser
Located in Denton, TX
Edition of 125 Signed in ink on print margin. Photograph is from The New Mexico Portfolio published in 1976 by the Center of the Eye Photograp...
Silver Gelatin
$2,800
Pinball Wizard, Secret World of Plants, German Macro Botanical Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
In Pinball Wizard, part of Görner's Secret World of Plants series, the interplay of vibrant greens and soft-focus spheres creates a mesmerizing, otherworldly scene. This German macro...
C Print, Lambda
$4,050
Pinball Wizard, Secret World of Plants, German Macro Botanical Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
In Pinball Wizard, part of Görner's Secret World of Plants series, the interplay of vibrant greens and soft-focus spheres creates a mesmerizing, otherworldly scene. This German macro...
C Print, Lambda
$5,300
Pinball Wizard, Secret World of Plants, German Macro Botanical Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
In Pinball Wizard, part of Görner's Secret World of Plants series, the interplay of vibrant greens and soft-focus spheres creates a mesmerizing, otherworldly scene. This German macro...
C Print, Lambda
$4,050
Flaming Yellow, Secret World of Plants, German Macro Botanical Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
In this captivating macro photograph, Görner skillfully unveils the intricate interplay between texture and light within the delicate anatomy of a flower. The vibrant yellow hues rad...
C Print, Lambda
$5,300
Flaming Yellow, Secret World of Plants, German Macro Botanical Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
In this captivating macro photograph, Görner skillfully unveils the intricate interplay between texture and light within the delicate anatomy of a flower. The vibrant yellow hues rad...
C Print, Lambda
"Alphabet Colors, " Crayon, Colored Pencil, Ink on Canvas by Tom Shelton
By Tom Shelton
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Alphabet Colors" is an original mixed media drawing on canvas by Tom Shelton. The artist used crayon, colored pencil, and ink. The artist says: “Looking at cursive writing teachin...
Canvas, Crayon, Ink, Color Pencil
Riggs Library II, Washington DC, Interior Architecture Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Riggs Library II, Washington DC, by world-renowned architectural photographer Reinhard Görner, captures the timeless elegance of one of America's rare surviving cast-iron libraries. ...
C Print, Lambda
Riggs Library I, Washington DC, Interior Architecture Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Riggs Library I, Washington DC, by world-renowned architectural photographer Reinhard Görner, captures the timeless elegance of one of America's rare surviving cast-iron libraries. T...
C Print, Lambda
Riggs Library I, Washington DC, Interior Architecture Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Riggs Library I, Washington DC, by world-renowned architectural photographer Reinhard Görner, captures the timeless elegance of one of America's rare surviving cast-iron libraries. T...
C Print, Lambda
$2,800
Dangerous Love, Secret World of Plants, German Macro Botanical Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
In this mesmerizing macro photograph, Görner masterfully captures the delicate interplay between form and color within a flower's intimate landscape. The soft, diaphanous pink petals...
C Print, Lambda
Longing, Secret World of Plants, German Macro Botanical Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
In this mesmerizing macro photograph, Görner masterfully captures the delicate interplay between form and color within a flower's intimate landscape. The soft, diaphanous pink petals...
C Print, Lambda
Longing, Secret World of Plants, German Macro Botanical Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
In this mesmerizing macro photograph, Görner masterfully captures the delicate interplay between form and color within a flower's intimate landscape. The soft, diaphanous pink petals...
C Print, Lambda
$2,807Sale Price|20% Off
Twilight's 034, Danse Macabre - A skeletal Oak tree - Landscpae
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...
Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Color
Cosmic Dance, Secret World of Plants, German Macro Botanical Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
An intimate portrayal of nature’s elaborate choreography, Cosmic Dance is a fine art photograph that invites the viewer into a world of vibrant textures and earthy chromatics. With i...
C Print, Lambda
Cosmic Dance, Secret World of Plants, German Macro Botanical Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
An intimate portrayal of nature’s elaborate choreography, Cosmic Dance is a fine art photograph that invites the viewer into a world of vibrant textures and earthy chromatics. With i...
C Print, Lambda