Contemporary Art
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.
2010s Contemporary Art
Giclée
2010s Contemporary Art
C Print
2010s Contemporary Art
Acrylic, Wood Panel, Varnish, Mixed Media, Spray Paint
2010s Contemporary Art
Blown Glass
2010s Contemporary Art
Archival Pigment
2010s Contemporary Art
Screen
2010s Contemporary Art
Bronze
1990s Contemporary Art
Bronze
2010s Contemporary Art
Brass
2010s Contemporary Art
Archival Pigment
2010s Contemporary Art
Mixed Media
2010s Contemporary Art
Offset
2010s Contemporary Art
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Art
Paint, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Archival Paper, Pen
1990s Contemporary Art
Digital Pigment
Early 2000s Contemporary Art
Giclée
Early 2000s Contemporary Art
Photogravure
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper
2010s Contemporary Art
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Giclée
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Giclée
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Giclée, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper
2010s Contemporary Art
Archival Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Giclée
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Giclée
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Photographic Paper, Archival Ink, Archival Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Pigment, Giclée, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Archival Ink
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Giclée, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Archival Ink, Archival Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Giclée
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Archival Ink, Giclée
2010s Contemporary Art
Bronze
2010s Contemporary Art
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Giclée, Archival Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Giclée
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Paper, Giclée, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper
2010s Contemporary Art
Screen
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Ink, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment
2010s Contemporary Art
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Giclée, Digital Pigment, Archival ...
2010s Contemporary Art
Oil, Panel
2010s Contemporary Art
Screen
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Pastel, Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Sumi Ink, Watercolor, Mulberry Paper, Color Pencil
2010s Contemporary Art
Watercolor, Gouache, Archival Paper
Contemporary art for sale on 1stDibs.
Read More

Tom Price Sculpted One of These Benches from Resin, the Other from Coal
Part art, part seating, they offer a fascinating meditation on life’s dualities.

Brooklyn’s Ground Floor Gallery Spotlights a Diverse Range of Emerging Artists
Cofounders Krista Scenna and Jill Benson highlight the work of underexposed talents and connect them with new collectors.

Photographer to Know: David Bailey
British portraitist David Bailey gets up close to his celebrity subjects.

High-Society Hijinks Fill the Imagination of Illustrator Tug Rice
The Pennsylvania-born, New York–based artist's whimsical creations affectionately satirize the foibles of his fellow Upper East Siders.

20 Years after Its Inception, Twentieth Gallery Defines High Design in L.A.
A designer in his own right, gallerist Stefan Lawrence blurs distinctions between contemporary furniture, art and functional objects.

100 Works That Remind Us Why Glass Can Be a Radical Art Form
A new show at Upstate New York’s Corning Museum of Glass shows off the best and brightest contemporary works of the last few years.

For Oliver Lee Jackson, Painting Is a Fierce and Sacred Matter
The artist and activist is the subject of a new show at Washington, D.C.'s National Gallery of Art.

Photographer to Know: Berenice Abbott
One of the 20th century's most important female photographers is finally being recognized as a daring and seminal artist.