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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
Rocks on the Shore, Great Rock, Sand Beach, color photograph, limited edition
Rocks on the Shore, Great Rock, Sand Beach, color photograph, limited edition

Rocks on the Shore, Great Rock, Sand Beach, color photograph, limited edition

By Gerald Berghammer

Located in Vienna, Vienna

Color fine art long landscape photography. Archival pigment ink print as part of a limited edition of 7. All Gerald Berghammer prints are made to order in limited editions on Hahnemu...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital Pigment

Nirvana Nevermind original color slide print

Nirvana Nevermind original color slide print

Located in Austin, TX

Signed print taken from an original color slide of Nirvana taken by Kirk Weddle. This slide was taken during the famous swimming pool sessions with Nirvana for the release of Nevermi...

Category

Late 20th Century Contemporary Art

Materials

Digital Pigment

"Kitten Bouquet" - Contemporary Mixed-Media Collage on Wood
"Kitten Bouquet" - Contemporary Mixed-Media Collage on Wood

"Kitten Bouquet" - Contemporary Mixed-Media Collage on Wood

By Zoa Ace

Located in Denver, CO

Born in Rockford, Illinois, 1951 Zoa Ace creates figurative oil paintings that explore human relationships through theatrical narratives infused with symbolic animals and whimsical...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Hajime Sorayama Tyrannosaurus T-rex Cyborg Dinosaur Sculpture in Box Nanzuka
Hajime Sorayama Tyrannosaurus T-rex Cyborg Dinosaur Sculpture in Box Nanzuka

Hajime Sorayama Tyrannosaurus T-rex Cyborg Dinosaur Sculpture in Box Nanzuka

Located in Surfside, FL

Hajime Sorayama (Japan, b. 1947) Medium: PVC (vinyl), silvered chrome resin Dimensions: 60 × 23 × 15 cm Approximately 23.5 x 9 x 6 inches. Produced by APPortfolio and Nanzuka A Tyra...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Resin, Mixed Media

Pedal Boat - Lake Balaton - color photography - landscape - limited edition
Pedal Boat - Lake Balaton - color photography - landscape - limited edition

Pedal Boat - Lake Balaton - color photography - landscape - limited edition

By Gerald Berghammer

Located in Vienna, Vienna

Gerald Berghammer - Color Long Exposure Waterscape Photography. Colorful pedal boats floating in calm water under a cloudy sky. Archival pigment ink print as part of a limited editi...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital Pigment

Flows of Light

Flows of Light

By Deedra Ludwig

Located in Atlanta, GA

Rather than re-creating a literal landscape on canvas or paper, I aim to express its essence in a rich and complex form of delicately painted organic subjects that float and trail ac...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil

"North Broad" Abstract cityscape, geometric pattern, triangle, mixed media panel
"North Broad" Abstract cityscape, geometric pattern, triangle, mixed media panel

"North Broad" Abstract cityscape, geometric pattern, triangle, mixed media panel

By Miriam Singer

Located in Philadelphia, PA

This piece titled "North Broad" is an original artwork made from pencil, marker, acrylic gouache collage on panel by Miriam Singer. This piece measures 6"h x 6"w and is signed on the...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Gouache, Panel, Permanent Marker, Pencil

Lakeside Wooden Jetty — Limited Edition Black and White Photograph
Lakeside Wooden Jetty — Limited Edition Black and White Photograph

Lakeside Wooden Jetty — Limited Edition Black and White Photograph

By Gerald Berghammer

Located in Vienna, Vienna

Archival pigment ink print, produced in a limited edition of 7 // Gallery ID: 21150 Fine art prints are produced to order on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta. Each print is stamped on the...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Digital Pigment

Don't Let Them Burst Your Bubble: Purple 1 XL - sculpture, blown glass and metal
Don't Let Them Burst Your Bubble: Purple 1 XL - sculpture, blown glass and metal

Don't Let Them Burst Your Bubble: Purple 1 XL - sculpture, blown glass and metal

By Cheryl Wilson Smith

Located in Bloomfield, ON

This contemporary purple glass tabletop sculpture is by Cheryl Wilson Smith. Cheryl Wilson Smith is known for her uniquely beautiful glass work—its form, colour and texture are ofte...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Glass, Mixed Media

"The Nose" by William Kentridge (Photograph, Black and White, Newspaper, Print)
"The Nose" by William Kentridge (Photograph, Black and White, Newspaper, Print)

"The Nose" by William Kentridge (Photograph, Black and White, Newspaper, Print)

By William Kentridge

Located in New York, NY

This is a monochromatic photogravure, aquatint and drypoint on Hahnemuhle Copperplate warm white paper. Created in 2010, it is signed in pencil lower right and numbered from the edit...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Screen, Photogravure

Circle of Cypress Trees, Tuscany – Black and White Landscape Photography
Circle of Cypress Trees, Tuscany – Black and White Landscape Photography

Circle of Cypress Trees, Tuscany – Black and White Landscape Photography

By Gerald Berghammer

Located in Vienna, Vienna

Archival pigment ink print, produced in a limited edition of 9 // Gallery ID: 21124 Fine art prints are produced to order on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta. Each print is stamped on the...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Digital Pigment

'Awakening' Limited edition triptych. Yosemite Mountains Trees Light Texture
'Awakening' Limited edition triptych. Yosemite Mountains Trees Light Texture

'Awakening' Limited edition triptych. Yosemite Mountains Trees Light Texture

By Sophia Milligan

Located in Penzance, GB

'Awakening' Archival photographic triptych. Limited Edition of 25. Unframed. _________________ Morning light illuminates the layered landscape of Yosemite National Park, Half Dome gently awakens. Sophia's poetic photographs are an exploration of the balance in all things: in the sensual interplay of light and shadow; in wild raw energy and serene stillness; in chaos and harmony; in the enduring and the effervescent. They are a contemplation of the ephemeral nature of all things. Each of three separate parts measuring 15 x 10 inches (Total of 3 parts 15 x 30 inches) Limited edition of 25 Hand signed, titled and numbered to the lower right corner on an approximately 1 inch white border. Archival Print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag® paper, one of the most beautiful and high quality archival art papers available. The luxurious matt finish provides a reflection free image that is rich in detail, depth and tone. Each print comes with a Certificate of Authenticity featuring a signature and edition number. Each printing is bespoke to order and can be printed on a single paper 15 x 30 inches. Please contact me for further information, or send a message with your order. Other sizes available * Please note that images of the artwork in situ and framed are an indication of how the piece can look, and in the context of other artworks. The artwork is being sold unframed. Framing options are available, please contact. ________________________________ About The Artist Sophia Milligan is a contemporary multidisciplinary artist, exploring discourses on permanence & evanescence; the eternal, cyclical absolutes of birth & death; motherhood & childhood; and ancient immutable connections. With resonating ripples of intuition and instinct Sophia illuminates the presence of the ordinary, creating moments of sublime present. 'Born among the wild cliffs and tempestuous seas of west Cornwall, I grew with the intimate details in the twisting lanes and the intense changing light throughout the turbulent seasons. I formed a primordial connection with a deep instinctual sense of being part of the natural narrative, and wherever in the world I may be, this connectivity underpins my practice. Like the wind sculpted hawthorns and sensual coves of weather worn granite, I have been shaped by the powerful energy entwined in this ancient raw environment.’ ‘We are the stories of the journeys that came before. I weave into my work the tales of transitory circumstance; of struggle and survival; of forms and textures holding records of evolutionary millennia. I paint, I draw: with marks, mixtures, photography, words; the raw earth; the restless oceans; the whispered breeze. I work with time, and the immeasurable spaces of experience within, giving subtleties of existence a pause for contemplation. There is beauty in such poignant breaths. All moments are significant, every pebble of now forms the vast mountain of yesterday, and the great realm of tomorrow's possibilities'. Sophia has a 1st class honours Bachelor of Arts Degree in Visual Arts and World History, and a Masters Degree in Contemporary Visual Arts. Her work is held in international private collections, and exhibitions of her interactive, immersive installation, photography and mixed media works include 'Tabula Rasa', London; 'Superlative', Plymouth; 'Transition', Newlyn; The Eden Project, Cornwall; The European Parliament, Brussels; Kew Gardens, London; and 'The Cameraless Film Festival', Chicago...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Photographic Paper

Bent Palm - Beach - Florida - USA
Bent Palm - Beach - Florida - USA

Bent Palm - Beach - Florida - USA

By Gerald Berghammer

Located in Vienna, Vienna

Black and white fine art landscape photography. Archival pigment ink print as part of a limited edition of 9. All Gerald Berghammer prints are made to order in limited editions on Ha...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Digital Pigment

American West by Anouk Krantz 2021

American West by Anouk Krantz 2021

By Anouk Krantz

Located in Chicago, IL

American West (B&W) 2021 ARCHIVAL PIGMENT PRINT Unframed Sizes: 40 x 60 in (101.6 x 152.4 cm) - Edition of 10 + 2 AP (Artist Proofs) SILVER GELATIN PRINT Unframed Size: 11.3 x 17 i...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Archival Pigment, Silver Gelatin

Anasyrma, Oil Painting
Anasyrma, Oil Painting

Anasyrma, Oil Painting

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A girl lifts her skirt as she dances with her partner, not shown in the frame. Her pose communicates a quiet, ambiguous narrative. The slight twist of the torso...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Oil

Snow covered Central Park New York City limited
Snow covered Central Park New York City limited

Snow covered Central Park New York City limited

By Gerald Berghammer

Located in Vienna, Vienna

Snow covered Central Park 1, New York City, USA - no. 11869 Archival pigment ink print, edition of 9. Signed, titled, dated and numbered by artist. Certificate of authenticity includ...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Digital Pigment

"Neighborling Maquette 28" Patterned Architectural Tower Figure by Seth Clark
"Neighborling Maquette 28" Patterned Architectural Tower Figure by Seth Clark

"Neighborling Maquette 28" Patterned Architectural Tower Figure by Seth Clark

By Seth Clark

Located in Philadelphia, PA

This piece, titled "Neighborling Maquette 28" s an original free-standing sculpture by Seth Clark as part of his newest solo exhibition, "Passing Through". Clark's deteriorating stru...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Wood, Paper, Acrylic, Resin

Accepting the Light

Accepting the Light

Located in Zofingen, AG

"Accepting the Light" is a symbolic figurative painting in the naive style, which belongs to the series "Canvases of the Inner Master”. The work continues the artist's central theme:...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Flowers for Mary #4

Flowers for Mary #4

By Gail Norfleet

Located in Dallas, TX

Gail Norfleet earned her BFA at The University of Texas at Austin, and her MFA at Southern Methodist University. She has had solo exhibitions at The McKinney Avenue Contemporary and ...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

India Ink, Acrylic, Illustration Board

Climber on Red N Blue Square. , Original Painting
Climber on Red N Blue Square. , Original Painting

Climber on Red N Blue Square. , Original Painting

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Artist Yelitza Diaz presents a symbolic display of figures holding onto each other as they climb a ledge. Part of her long ongoing Climbers series reiterated ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Mixed Media

"Airstream at Dusk" Original Oil Painting
"Airstream at Dusk" Original Oil Painting

"Airstream at Dusk" Original Oil Painting

Located in Boca Raton, FL

The vintage "Airstream Overlander" travel trailer from 1962 is a classic! The polished metallic surface and iconic design makes one nostalgic for mid-century life. Summers on the roa...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Oil

Flooded Rock – Iceland Black Beach & Mountains, B&W Print , Limited Edition
Flooded Rock – Iceland Black Beach & Mountains, B&W Print , Limited Edition

Flooded Rock – Iceland Black Beach & Mountains, B&W Print , Limited Edition

By Gerald Berghammer

Located in Vienna, Vienna

Archival pigment ink print, produced in a limited edition of 15 // Gallery ID: 11133 Fine art prints are produced to order on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta. Each print is stamped on th...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital Pigment

Gillian Theobald "Fictive Space 75B" 2019 acrylic on panel
Gillian Theobald "Fictive Space 75B" 2019 acrylic on panel

Gillian Theobald "Fictive Space 75B" 2019 acrylic on panel

Located in New York, NY

Of her recent work, Theobald states, "My practice is to make both relief collages and paintings at the same time. The paintings are not an abstraction of an actual landscape, but the...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Acrylic, Panel

Monte Amiata I, Milan - Color Blocking Architecture Photograph
Monte Amiata I, Milan - Color Blocking Architecture Photograph

Monte Amiata I, Milan - Color Blocking Architecture Photograph

By Richard Heeps

Located in Cambridge, GB

'Monte Amiata I', photographed in February 2020 for his ongoing series 'A Short History of Milan'. There is a reoccurring linear, structural theme throughout the series, capturing t...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin

BESSIE MAE Signed Lithograph Linocut, Plus Size Female Singer on Stage Red Dress
BESSIE MAE Signed Lithograph Linocut, Plus Size Female Singer on Stage Red Dress

BESSIE MAE Signed Lithograph Linocut, Plus Size Female Singer on Stage Red Dress

By Jonathan Green

Located in Union City, NJ

BESSIE MAE is a hand drawn, limited edition lithograph/linocut by the African American artist JONATHAN GREEN printed in 10 colors using hand lithography techniques and linoleum cut o...

Category

1990s Contemporary Art

Materials

Lithograph, Linocut

Dusk from an Airplane, Abstract Aerial Diptych, Giclée, Deep Blue to Yellow Hue
Dusk from an Airplane, Abstract Aerial Diptych, Giclée, Deep Blue to Yellow Hue

Dusk from an Airplane, Abstract Aerial Diptych, Giclée, Deep Blue to Yellow Hue

By Ryan Rivadeneyra

Located in Barcelona, ES

Cyd Fontaine (Lausanne, 1992) is a contemporary artist renowned for her captivating use of dreamy atmospheric gradients, which has helped her carve a distinctive niche in the world o...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, C Print, Giclée, Archival Pigment

Reclined Nude - Drawing by Giovanni Gromo - 1980s
Reclined Nude - Drawing by Giovanni Gromo - 1980s

Reclined Nude - Drawing by Giovanni Gromo - 1980s

Located in Roma, IT

Pencil and watercolor on paper mounted on cardboard realized by Giovanni Gromo. Hand signed. Very good condition. Includes a contemporary wooden frame cm. 64x55.

Category

1980s Contemporary Art

Materials

Pastel, Cardboard, Pencil, Watercolor

The Silence Then the Rain

The Silence Then the Rain

By Pauline Ziegen

Located in Santa Fe, NM

Pauline Ziegen oil, gold leaf, mixed media on panel coral, pink, white gold, teal, aqua, rust, navy, blue Pauline Ziegen’s earliest landscape paintings were painted outdoors in Kans...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

Ducati Girl

Nick VedrosDucati Girl, 2012

$790Sale Price|34% Off

Ducati Girl

Located in Kansas City, MO

Nick Vedros Ducati Girl Archival Pigment Print on Epson Legacy Platine 100% Cotton Fibre, 314 gsm, Acid and Lignin free Year: 2012 Size: 16x10in Edition: 15 Signed, dated and number...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment

Moments in Time (Sidewinder) - Polaroid

Moments in Time (Sidewinder) - Polaroid

By Stefanie Schneider

Located in Morongo Valley, CA

Moments in Time (Sidewinder) - 2008 20x20cm, Edition of 10, Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid. Certificate and Signature label. Artist Inventory #3331 Not mounted. Stef...

Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Art

Materials

Photographic Film, Archival Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid

Gold Flora Cornflowers - Metallic Botanical Cyanotype Painting Plants, 2021-'24
Gold Flora Cornflowers - Metallic Botanical Cyanotype Painting Plants, 2021-'24

Gold Flora Cornflowers - Metallic Botanical Cyanotype Painting Plants, 2021-'24

By Julia Whitney Barnes

Located in Kent, CT

In this contemporary botanical painting in watercolor, gouache, India ink, gold pigments and tea-toned cyanotype on cotton watercolor paper, meticulously detailed flowers, including ...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Ink, Watercolor, Gouache, Archival Paper, Tea

Characters - Oil paint by Daniela Romano - 1980s
Characters - Oil paint by Daniela Romano - 1980s

Characters - Oil paint by Daniela Romano - 1980s

Located in Roma, IT

Oil on canvas realized by Daniela Romano (1947-2009) in 1980s. Hand signed lower right. Includes a wooden chassis 35x45 cm. Very good condition.

Category

1980s Contemporary Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Poems LXXXV - Blue Contemporary Abstract Textural Thread and Acrylic Paint Art
Poems LXXXV - Blue Contemporary Abstract Textural Thread and Acrylic Paint Art

Poems LXXXV - Blue Contemporary Abstract Textural Thread and Acrylic Paint Art

By Raul de la Torre

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Barcelona artist Raul de la Torre's vibrant abstract mixed media artworks pay homage to material. De La Torre allows the materials to take over during the process and collaborates wi...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Canvas, Thread, Mixed Media, Acrylic

Path to the Source
Path to the Source

Path to the Source

Located in Zofingen, AG

The painting "Path to the Source" part of the "Canvases of the Inner Master” is a powerful visual metaphor for conscious creation. It illustrates the idea that by monitoring and nurt...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

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.