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
Oil
Early 2000s Contemporary Art
Digital Pigment, Archival Ink, Archival Paper
2010s Contemporary Art
Stainless Steel
2010s Contemporary Art
Archival Pigment
20th Century Contemporary Art
Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic
1990s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Bronze
1950s Contemporary Art
Etching
Early 2000s Contemporary Art
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Paper, Acrylic, Pigment
Early 2000s Contemporary Art
Archival Pigment
2010s Contemporary Art
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
2010s Contemporary Art
Screen
2010s Contemporary Art
Fabric, Textile, Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Pencil, Color Pencil
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Vinyl
Early 2000s Contemporary Art
Digital Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Metal, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Art
Thread
2010s Contemporary Art
Paper, Mixed Media
2010s Contemporary Art
Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Oil
20th Century Contemporary Art
Paper, Lithograph, Offset
2010s Contemporary Art
Screen
2010s Contemporary Art
Oil, Panel
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Granite
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Gesso, Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
1990s Contemporary Art
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Rag Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment, Digi...
Early 2000s Contemporary Art
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
2010s Contemporary Art
Acrylic, Panel
2010s Contemporary Art
Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Pencil
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Linen, Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Oil, Panel
Early 2000s Contemporary Art
Archival Paper, Black and White, Giclée, Archival Pigment, Pigment, Phot...
1980s Contemporary Art
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Color, Giclée, Pigment, Archival Pig...
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Giclée, Archival Pigment
2010s Contemporary Art
Linen, Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Rag Paper, Pigment
2010s Contemporary Art
Black and White, Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Thread, Found Objects, Fabric, Textile
Early 2000s Contemporary Art
Archival Paper, Giclée
1980s Contemporary Art
Foil
2010s Contemporary Art
Archival Pigment
1980s Contemporary Art
Screen
1940s Contemporary Art
Silver Gelatin
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Art
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Giclée, Archival Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Film, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Giclée
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Woodcut, Monoprint
2010s Contemporary Art
Porcelain
Early 2000s Contemporary Art
Lithograph