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.
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Pigment
2010s Contemporary Art
Oil, Cotton Canvas
2010s Contemporary Art
Photographic Paper, Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Giclée, Archi...
1980s Contemporary Art
Lithograph
2010s Contemporary Art
Archival Pigment
2010s Contemporary Art
Chalk, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Watercolor, Photogram, Conté, Pencil, ...
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Ink, Watercolor, Chalk, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Photogram
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Lithograph
2010s Contemporary Art
Oil Pastel, Pencil, Color Pencil
2010s Contemporary Art
Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Acrylic
1980s Contemporary Art
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Paper, Pastel
2010s Contemporary Art
Fabric, Trimming, Charcoal
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Giclée, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment, Photographic Paper
2010s Contemporary Art
Oil Pastel, Pencil
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars
2010s Contemporary Art
PVC, Acrylic, Mulberry Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Art
Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Archival Paper, Archival Pigment, Color
1990s Contemporary Art
Lithograph
2010s Contemporary Art
Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Paper, Acrylic
1980s Contemporary Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
C Print, Plexiglass
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Pigment
2010s Contemporary Art
Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Steel
2010s Contemporary Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Paper, Color
2010s Contemporary Art
Enamel, Stainless Steel
2010s Contemporary Art
Photographic Paper, Color, Archival Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Paper, Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Digital, Archiv...
2010s Contemporary Art
Luster, Archival Pigment, Inkjet, Laser, Color, C Print, Photographic Pa...
2010s Contemporary Art
Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Art
Ceramic, Stoneware, Glaze
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Acrylic
Early 2000s Contemporary Art
C Print
2010s Contemporary Art
Paper, Pastel
1990s Contemporary Art
C Print
2010s Contemporary Art
Paper, Ink
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Polyester
2010s Contemporary Art
Stainless Steel
2010s Contemporary Art
Archival Pigment
2010s Contemporary Art
Linen, Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Art
Etching, Engraving
2010s Contemporary Art
Giclée
2010s Contemporary Art
Metal