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Contemporary Art

CONTEMPORARY STYLE

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.

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Style: Contemporary
Recognized Seller Listings
"Jetstar Quest"

"Jetstar Quest"

By Peregrine Heathcote

Located in Scottsdale, AZ

Peregrine Heathcote’s paintings conjure a world of intoxicating glamour and intrigue, slipping across the boundaries of time to fuse iconic pre-war design with modern conceptions of ...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Dahlia 8, 2013 - Cream Color Waterlily Dahlia Botanical Flower Photograph

Dahlia 8, 2013 - Cream Color Waterlily Dahlia Botanical Flower Photograph

Located in Brighton, GB

Dahlia 8, 2013 - Cream Color Waterlily Dahlia Botanical Flower Photograph by Philip Gatward Dahlia 8 is a rich and luxurious Archival Inkjet Print by contemporary photographer Phili...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Archival Ink, Inkjet, Color

The Yellow Jacket, Portrait Painting
The Yellow Jacket, Portrait Painting

The Yellow Jacket, Portrait Painting

By Manuel Santelices

Located in Miami Beach, FL

Movies, TV and magazines are constant source of inspiration. Fame, as fleckring and shallow it can be sometimes, is very intriguing to him. The worlds of fashion, society and pop cu...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Paper, Pastel, Ink

ORBITA #2 and #3 Diptych. From The Series Orbita
ORBITA #2 and #3 Diptych. From The Series Orbita

ORBITA #2 and #3 Diptych. From The Series Orbita

Located in Miami Beach, FL

This artwork depicts a perfectly synchronized dance across an ocean of empty space, inspired by the "Astronomical" section of the Jet Chocolate Bar Natural History Album (1986 editio...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Resin, Wood, Coating, Ink, Acrylic

Fluid Desire
Fluid Desire

Fluid Desire

By Tula Telfair

Located in New York, NY

Tula Telfair paints monumental landscapes and epic-scale vistas that are simultaneously awe-inspiring and intimate. She combines stillness with motion, solitude with universality and...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Pause 2/3 - desktop bronze, sculpture
Pause 2/3 - desktop bronze, sculpture

Pause 2/3 - desktop bronze, sculpture

By P. Roch Smith

Located in Bloomfield, ON

The legendary canoeist and Canadian filmmaker Bill Mason once said, “First God made the canoe then he created a country to go with it.” Sculptor Roch Smith has embraced the iconic i...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Bronze

Hotel Chelsea, New York. First Floor, North
Hotel Chelsea, New York. First Floor, North

Hotel Chelsea, New York. First Floor, North

Located in Miami Beach, FL

These extraordinary photographs are part of the the Hotel Chelsea series. The Hotel Chelsea closed its doors for the first time in its iconic history of over one hundred years. Amer...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

C Print

Music DS bookscape
Music DS bookscape

Music DS bookscape

By Max Steven Grossman

Located in Boca Raton, FL

Other bookscapes available - popular themes include Music, Art, Fashion, Sports, Film, and more. Music DS Bookscape highlights contemporary books on Music legends, including Jimi H...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, Plexiglass

Marella Agnelli in Marrakesh
Marella Agnelli in Marrakesh

Marella Agnelli in Marrakesh

By Manuel Santelices

Located in Miami Beach, FL

Movies, TV and magazines are constant source of inspiration. Fame, as fleckring and shallow it can be sometimes, is very intriguing to him. The worlds of fashion, society and pop cu...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Basketball 1, Clapham - Limited Edition Contemporary London Photography
Basketball 1, Clapham - Limited Edition Contemporary London Photography

Basketball 1, Clapham - Limited Edition Contemporary London Photography

By Samuel Hicks

Located in Brighton, GB

Basketball, Clapham I is a stunning C-Type Print by contemporary photographer Samuel Hicks. It is in an Edition of 25 in this size, and sold unframed. A singular basketball player ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, C Print, Digital, Color

Isolation III. From the Isolation Series
Isolation III. From the Isolation Series

Isolation III. From the Isolation Series

Located in Miami Beach, FL

Starting with photographic base elements, such as the figure or the landscape, Haider transforms the scenery into a surreal world through heavy post-production. She uses photographs,...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Rag Paper, Archival Pigment

Like Ice in the Clouds (Japan) No. 94

Like Ice in the Clouds (Japan) No. 94

By Simone Rosenbauer

Located in New York, NY

15 x 15 archival pigment print, framed, edition 8. Signed, titled, dated and editioned on frame label provided. In this latest body of work, Simone Rosenbauer continues her series "...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Archival Pigment

"When the Moon and the Sky Talk About Flowers"

"When the Moon and the Sky Talk About Flowers"

By Ana Maria Hernando

Located in Lyons, CO

The artist describes this project: “I paint and draw flowers, not only out of mesmerized wonder for their presence on earth, but also as a rebellion against the labels of “decorative”, “inconsequential” and “superficial” that have been equated historically to the art of women...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Lithograph

"Rhapsody"

"Rhapsody"

By Ron Hicks

Located in Scottsdale, AZ

Born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1965, Ron Hicks was an avid artist from an early age. Hicks began his formal studies in art at the Columbus College of Art and Design in Ohio. Hicks contin...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Caballero, Two and One, Diptych. From The Motion Series
Caballero, Two and One, Diptych. From The Motion Series

Caballero, Two and One, Diptych. From The Motion Series

By Ricky Cohete

Located in Miami Beach, FL

Throughout his exploration of movement of the body, with modern and ballet dancers, as well as a focus on the male physic; he has concentrated on the curves and lines of the their anatomy. The expansion of the body as it intertwines with the light and the infinity of motion as an eternal dance. The harsh lights and shadows in the warm Florida weather led Ricky Rocket to explore photography. The sharp and refined effect of these types of lighting conditions became a necessity to avoid studio environments. Self-taught, while photographing ballet...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Archival Pigment

Cy Twombly with pink chairs. From the Interiors series
Cy Twombly with pink chairs. From the Interiors series

Cy Twombly with pink chairs. From the Interiors series

By Manuel Santelices

Located in Miami Beach, FL

A new series inspired by architecture, décor and stylish personalities of the world of interior design. The worlds of fashion, society and pop culture are captured in the illustrati...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Paper, Gouache, Acrylic

Something got me started. Color photograph of a assembled guitars body Sculpture
Something got me started. Color photograph of a assembled guitars body Sculpture

Something got me started. Color photograph of a assembled guitars body Sculpture

By Kevin Krag

Located in Miami Beach, FL

For this body of works, Krag incorporates live and dry flowers,vines, moss, air plants and ocean driftwood creating botanical instruments that seem to touch on contrasting themes of vitality and decay. He creates breathing and dying objects deeply connected to the passing of time, stilled lives contemplating mortality and the brevity of beauty and life. Photography helps Kevin Krag...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Color, Archival Pigment

Roma 2020 A 09bn, Black and White Architecture Photograph
Roma 2020 A 09bn, Black and White Architecture Photograph

Roma 2020 A 09bn, Black and White Architecture Photograph

By Luca Artioli

Located in Miami Beach, FL

Luca Artioli has always been fascinated by Roman Statues. As a child, he wandered through the Imperial Forum creating dialogues between them. For young Luca the statues were alive. T...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Archival Pigment, Black and White

Akro Ascendant
Akro Ascendant

Akro Ascendant

By Valerie B Hird

Located in New York, NY

VALERIE HIRD AKVO ASCENDANT, 2012 oil on BFK paper 25 x 33 in. 63.5 x 83.8 cm.

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Oil, Handmade Paper

Earth
Earth

Earth

By Miles Cleveland Goodwin

Located in Dallas, TX

After a tour of duty in the US Navy, Miles Cleveland Goodwin earned a BFA from Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon, in 2007, and eventually returned to coastal Missi...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Si Se Puede, by Juan Fuentes
Si Se Puede, by Juan Fuentes

Si Se Puede, by Juan Fuentes

By Juan Fuentes

Located in Palm Springs, CA

Medium: linocut Year: 2023 Image Size: 18 x 24 inches Edition Size: 10 Undocumented immigrants scaling the wall to enter the United States, against a backdrop of butterflies flying ...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Linocut

Untitled II. Painting. From the Medium - Screen Time series
Untitled II. Painting. From the Medium - Screen Time series

Untitled II. Painting. From the Medium - Screen Time series

Located in Miami Beach, FL

In this project, exploring the fluid condition between the virtual and real world, the artist seek to materialize my experiences in digital environments - whether browsing through G...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Canvas, Wood, Oil, Giclée, Mixed Media

San Rafael,  Artist Self Portrait. Black and white Photograph
San Rafael,  Artist Self Portrait. Black and white Photograph

San Rafael, Artist Self Portrait. Black and white Photograph

Located in Miami Beach, FL

Water is constant in the artist's visual investigation, for her water is no longer the stage in which the body's memory bursts, but rather the environment and protagonist, constant o...

Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment

Hotel Chelsea, New York. Room 823
Hotel Chelsea, New York. Room 823

Hotel Chelsea, New York. Room 823

Located in Miami Beach, FL

Hotel Chelsea, New York. Room 823 Photographs from the photography book entitled Hotel Chelsea (publisher pointed leaf press 2013). C-print archival Size: 26.6 in H x 40 in W Edition...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

C Print

Hotel Chelsea, New York. Room 121
Hotel Chelsea, New York. Room 121

Hotel Chelsea, New York. Room 121

Located in Miami Beach, FL

These extraordinary photographs are part of the the Hotel Chelsea series. The Hotel Chelsea closed its doors for the first time in its iconic history of over one hundred years. Amer...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

C Print

Grand Performances - California Plaza, by Frank Romero
Grand Performances - California Plaza, by Frank Romero

Grand Performances - California Plaza, by Frank Romero

By Frank Romero

Located in Palm Springs, CA

Medium: Serigraph Image Size: 38 x 26 inches Year: 2012 Edition: 140 Signed and numbered by the artist from the edition of 140. This print was featured in “Dreamland”, the first solo exhibition of a Chicano artist at MOLAA (Museum of Latin American Art). This is the first time the entire museum has been dedicated to a single artist. Throughout his 40 year career as an artist, Frank Romero has been a dedicated member of the Los Angeles arts community. As a member of the 1970s Chicano art collective, Los Four, Romero and fellow artists Carlos Almaraz, Beto de la Rocha...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Screen

Contemporary art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Contemporary 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 Stefanie Schneider, Tyler Shields, Kirsten Thys van den Audenaerde, and Richard Heeps. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Paper and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Contemporary art, so small editions measuring 0.02 inches across are also available.