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
Ink, Watercolor, Archival Paper, Color Pencil, Graphite
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Canvas, Linen, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Art
Acrylic, Canvas
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Art
Linen, Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Rag Paper, Pigment
2010s Contemporary Art
Archival Pigment
2010s Contemporary Art
Encaustic, Panel
2010s Contemporary Art
Archival Pigment
2010s Contemporary Art
Fabric, Silk, Mixed Media
2010s Contemporary Art
Acrylic, Paint, Canvas
2010s Contemporary Art
Fabric, Silk, Mixed Media
2010s Contemporary Art
Archival Pigment
2010s Contemporary Art
Plexiglass, C Print
2010s Contemporary Art
Linen, Acrylic, Gouache
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Photographic Film, Emulsion, Watercolor, Photographic Paper, C Print, Co...
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Color, Polaroid
2010s Contemporary Art
Archival Pigment
2010s Contemporary Art
Linen, Acrylic, Gouache
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Art
Linen, Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Paper, Gouache
2010s Contemporary Art
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Ink, Tempera
2010s Contemporary Art
Linen, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Plexiglass, Digital
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Art
Spray Paint
2010s Contemporary Art
Pigment
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic, Putty
2010s Contemporary Art
Archival Pigment
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Acrylic, Canvas
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Paint, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Etching, Aquatint
Early 2000s Contemporary Art
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Archival Pigment
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Paint, Mixed Media
2010s Contemporary Art
Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Archival Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Pastel
2010s Contemporary Art
Steel
Early 2000s Contemporary Art
Glass, Wood, Photographic Film, Archival Ink, Wax, Panel, Archival Paper...
Early 2000s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Art
Stone, Marble
2010s Contemporary Art
Tempera
2010s Contemporary Art
Lithograph