Skip to main content

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.

to
323
2,242
2,186
1,542
1,844
4,752
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
3
2
1,564
10,960
4
6
7
51
162
317
640
3
12,572
3,602
2,829
806
528
451
257
208
167
164
158
140
125
57
5,641
4,651
1,277
4,774
2,496
1,962
1,686
1,626
1,222
1,117
990
889
742
734
680
626
547
542
539
455
401
401
400
3,964
3,714
2,294
2,095
1,339
918
189
188
143
133
2,555
2,445
8,362
2,951
Style: Contemporary
Recognized Seller Listings
10th Anniversary New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival Poster - 1979
10th Anniversary New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival Poster - 1979

10th Anniversary New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival Poster - 1979

Located in New Orleans, LA

10th Anniversary New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival Poster, 1979 by John Martinez Fifth in the series by John Martinez. The grand marshal returns for the Jazz Festival's 10th anniversary; as does the "cut paper" technique first seen in the 1977 poster...

Category

1970s Contemporary Art

Materials

Screen

Untitled (Interior)

Untitled (Interior)

By Allison Gildersleeve

Located in Dallas, TX

"Behind my canvases, collages, and drawings lies a singular proposition: places are not inert; they are repositories for all that passes through them. My work is an inquiry into the ...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Paper, Ink, Acrylic

"Charades"
"Charades"

"Charades"

By Michael Carson

Located in Scottsdale, AZ

Mike Carson is a Minneapolis painter, and graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, whose artwork can be found in private and corporate collections throughout the Unite...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Coastal Fog
Coastal Fog

Coastal Fog

By Stephen McMillan

Located in Palm Springs, CA

Trees in fog. A band of fog off of the Pacific, pouring its way through the forest in Fiscalini Ranch, Cambria. Born in Berkeley, California, on December 21, 1949, he was raised in ...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

Sweet Pea II

Sweet Pea II

By Robert Kushner

Located in Lyons, CO

Color lithograph with metallic leaf, Edition 30 Kushner's use of rich color harmonies and bold, fluid drawing, mark his belief in the importance of beauty in our lives. Kushner ha...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Lithograph

The Couch Potato
The Couch Potato

The Couch Potato

By Robert Deyber

Located in Greenwich, CT

The Couch Potato is a lithograph on paper, initialed lower right 'BD' and numbered lower left, 7.25 x 9" image size. From the edition of 395, numbered IV/C (there were also 275 Arabi...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Paper, Lithograph

Lost View: Dawn

Lost View: Dawn

By Yvonne Jacquette

Located in Lyons, CO

Color lithograph, Edition 45. Yvonne Jacquette depicts our urban world from a vantage point high above us. From her perch, she brings order and context to the crazy world we have made. Neon signs, strings of cars on dark highways, bright lit windows viewed from the top of a skyscraper or from an airplane window...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Lithograph

Solar Series #2: Bridge at Auver - blue, red, abstract, modernist, oil on canvas
Solar Series #2: Bridge at Auver - blue, red, abstract, modernist, oil on canvas

Solar Series #2: Bridge at Auver - blue, red, abstract, modernist, oil on canvas

By David Sorensen

Located in Bloomfield, ON

This colorful abstract painting was created by the Canadian artist David Sorensen. One of Canada’s finest contemporary artists, David Sorensen actually began his art career as a sculptor, a natural path from his education as an architect. When he began painting, Sorensen was fascinated by the interaction of light with its environment and was drawn to the work of color field painters as early as the 1950s. In his own work, he embraced abstraction as a form and in this series the concept of a central square from which lines of varying widths—both vertical and horizontal emanate. The color palette is bold and rich—cranberry red, deep blue, sienna, brown, and white. The brushstrokes are expressive and lend a natural movement to the painting. Sorensen admired and was influenced by the work of American abstract expressionists Jackson Pollock and Franz Kline. Auver is in France; famous as a place where Vincent Van Gogh...

Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Hypomnema #4 Wall sculpture.
Hypomnema #4 Wall sculpture.

Hypomnema #4 Wall sculpture.

Located in Miami Beach, FL

Hypomnema. A term that is composed of the ancient Greek preposition Hypo-Mneme and literally means “commemorative memory.” It is the meeting of several layers in an object, the memor...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Textile, Mixed Media

Untitled Ref. 94016
Untitled Ref. 94016

Untitled Ref. 94016

By Carlos Capelan

Located in Miami Beach, FL

Capelán's work stands out for its rigorous handling of diverse artistic techniques and procedures, ranging from drawing to installation, including painting, printmaking, photography,...

Category

1990s Contemporary Art

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media

Eye of the Storm
Eye of the Storm

Eye of the Storm

By Robert Deyber

Located in Greenwich, CT

Eye of the Storm is a lithograph on paper, 9.5 x 9 inches image size, and initialed 'BD' lower right. From the edition of 395, numbered 231/275 (there were also 100 Roman and 20 AP)....

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Paper, Lithograph

Untitled (Interior)

Untitled (Interior)

By Allison Gildersleeve

Located in Dallas, TX

"Behind my canvases, collages, and drawings lies a singular proposition: places are not inert; they are repositories for all that passes through them. My work is an inquiry into the ...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Paper, Ink, Acrylic

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

Wild Mustard #2, by Stephen McMillan
Wild Mustard #2, by Stephen McMillan

Wild Mustard #2, by Stephen McMillan

By Stephen McMillan

Located in Palm Springs, CA

Signed and numbered etching and aquatint from the edition of 250. By the end of February the the rows of still dormant grape vines are delineated by bright yellow mustard flowers. These vineyards are in the hills southwest of Napa. Born in Berkeley, California, on December 21, 1949, he was raised in a home that had a sweeping view of the San Francisco Bay. This scene kindled his interest in landscape and was one of his earliest drawing subjects. Stephen McMillan's etchings and aquatint prints capture the landscapes of California...

Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Art

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

Ulysses at Home - 21st Century, Figurative Painting, Yellow, Bow, Warrior, Arrow
Ulysses at Home - 21st Century, Figurative Painting, Yellow, Bow, Warrior, Arrow

Ulysses at Home - 21st Century, Figurative Painting, Yellow, Bow, Warrior, Arrow

By Alexandru Rădvan

Located in Baden-Baden, DE

Ulysses at Home, 2011 Acrylic Paint on Canvas, (Signed, front left corner) 94.48 H x 86.61 W in. 240 H x 220 W cm The artwork "Ulysses at Home" was part of the solo show “Epic”. Thi...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

A Case for Cushions - contemporary, floral still life, acrylic and oil on canvas
A Case for Cushions - contemporary, floral still life, acrylic and oil on canvas

A Case for Cushions - contemporary, floral still life, acrylic and oil on canvas

By Pat Service

Located in Bloomfield, ON

This delightful, colorful painting of a floral still life illustrates Pat Service’s superb use of color, pattern, texture and form. In the 1990’s, the Canadian artist highly regard...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

Storm Dragon

Storm Dragon

By Don Ed Hardy

Located in Lyons, CO

Color lithograph, Edition 20. Don Ed Hardy’s lithographs “Storm Dragon” and “Sea Dragon” continue his lifelong exploration of dragon mythology and imagery. For 2000, the Year of the...

Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Art

Materials

Lithograph

Untitled
Untitled

Untitled

By Jasper Johns

Located in New York, NY

Jasper Johns Untitled 2010 Intaglio on Revere Standard White 19 x 21 1/2 inches 48 x 55 cm Edition of 50 Signed, dated, and numbered in graphite (lower recto) Frame available upon request Available from Matthew Marks Gallery...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Intaglio, Etching

Untitled, from the series ‚Semear‘
Untitled, from the series ‚Semear‘

Untitled, from the series ‚Semear‘

By Rinko Kawauchi

Located in Zurich, CH

Rinko KAWAUCHI (*1972, Japan) Untitled, from the series ‚Semear‘, 2010 C-print Medium 25.4 × 30.48 cm (10 x 12 in.) Large 101.6 × 101.6 cm (40 x 40 in.) Edition of 3 Print only, Sign...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

C Print

Heavenly, Virtuous and Miracle

Heavenly, Virtuous and Miracle

By Cristina Mittermeier

Located in Chicago, IL

"Heavenly, Virtuous and Miracle" Hawaii, 2013 Available sizes: 20 x 30 in / Edition of 6 - $9,500 32 x 48 in / Edition of 6 - $13,500 40 x 60 in / Edition of 6 - $15,500 50 x 75 in ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Archival Pigment

"Internalize"

"Internalize"

By Tim Rees

Located in Scottsdale, AZ

Timothy Rees was fascinated with drawing throughout his youth and after high school pursued a degree in animation. The pull to painting portraits and figures was strong, however, le...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Gold Leaf

Her is the Sea, by Jos Sances
Her is the Sea, by Jos Sances

Her is the Sea, by Jos Sances

Located in Palm Springs, CA

One print from Jos Sances cycle concerning Moby Dick. A vast sperm whale drifts below the surface, scarred by harpoons, while above floats a lone survivor on a coffin raft—a haunting...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Screen

XoX Vitruvian Kiddo - sculpture, resin and paint
XoX Vitruvian Kiddo - sculpture, resin and paint

XoX Vitruvian Kiddo - sculpture, resin and paint

By Viktor Mitic

Located in Bloomfield, ON

"This indoor figurative pop art table top sculpture is made from resin. Playful, colourful and imaginative, Viktor Mitic’s latest series of unique sculptures appear to merge pop art...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Mixed Media

Silver Linings No. 3 - contemporary, handcrafted, ceramic sculpture
Silver Linings No. 3 - contemporary, handcrafted, ceramic sculpture

Silver Linings No. 3 - contemporary, handcrafted, ceramic sculpture

By Loren Kaplan

Located in Bloomfield, ON

This contemporary ceramic black vase is by Loren Kaplan. A gifted ceramicist, Loren Kaplan’s strikingly elegant work is highly regarded by international collectors. Kaplan’s porcelain artwork is informed by her homeland, South Africa—its people, land and cultural traditions. This black stone vase...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Ceramic

Celestine - expressive, textured, female, figurative, paper mache sculpture
Celestine - expressive, textured, female, figurative, paper mache sculpture

Celestine - expressive, textured, female, figurative, paper mache sculpture

By Paul Duval

Located in Bloomfield, ON

This lithe, elegant female figure was sculpted by Quebec artist Paul Duval. One of a series of paper mache, wire and metal table top pieces, each one imbued with a distinct personality. Duval uses simple gestures, posture, and colour to convey each character’s individuality. Celestine is clothed in a royal blue gown...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Wire

Medaglia d’Oro, Horse head and eye - Stallion Portrait unframed Print on Paper
Medaglia d’Oro, Horse head and eye - Stallion Portrait unframed Print on Paper

Medaglia d’Oro, Horse head and eye - Stallion Portrait unframed Print on Paper

Located in London, GB

Medaglia d'Oro (foaled April 11, 1999) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won several major stakes races including the 2002 Travers Stakes and the 2003 Whitney Handicap. He al...

Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Color, Archival Paper, Archival In...

Mainbocher Corset. Paris. Printed later
Mainbocher Corset. Paris. Printed later

Mainbocher Corset. Paris. Printed later

By Horst P. Horst

Located in Miami Beach, FL

This captivating black-and-white photograph, titled Mainbocher Corset by Horst P. Horst, masterfully blends elegance and geometry. The composition features a woman seen from behind, ...

Category

1940s Contemporary Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

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.