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
Canvas, Paint, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Art
Screen
1980s Contemporary Art
Paper, Screen
2010s Contemporary Art
Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Dye, Emulsion, Cotton Canvas, Archival Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic...
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Art
C Print, Color, Polaroid
2010s Contemporary Art
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Copper
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Mixed Media
Early 2000s Contemporary Art
Ink, Screen
2010s Contemporary Art
Metal, Steel
2010s Contemporary Art
Oil, Panel
2010s Contemporary Art
Giclée
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Bronze
Early 2000s Contemporary Art
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
Early 2000s Contemporary Art
Photographic Paper, Archival Paper
2010s Contemporary Art
Resin, Spray Paint, Acrylic
1990s Contemporary Art
Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Pigment
1990s Contemporary Art
Crayon, Pastel, Archival Paper
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Plexiglass, Giclée
Early 2000s Contemporary Art
Offset
2010s Contemporary Art
Paper, Ink, Linocut
2010s Contemporary Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Pigment
2010s Contemporary Art
Bronze
1980s Contemporary Art
Photographic Film, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Black and White, ...
2010s Contemporary Art
Color, Archival Pigment
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Contemporary Art
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Art
Oil, Canvas
2010s Contemporary Art
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Giclée
2010s Contemporary Art
Screen
2010s Contemporary Art
Watercolor, Paper, Gouache
Early 2000s Contemporary Art
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin
1980s Contemporary Art
Digital Pigment
1960s Contemporary Art
Oil, Cardboard
Early 20th Century Contemporary Art
Paper, Charcoal
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Giclée
1950s Contemporary Art
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
20th Century Contemporary Art
Terracotta, Wood
2010s Contemporary Art
Wood, Oil, Board
2010s Contemporary Art
Oil, Canvas
1970s Contemporary Art
Offset
1980s Contemporary Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art
Archival Paper, Color, Etching, Intaglio, Drypoint, Aquatint
2010s Contemporary Art
Oil, Board
1990s Contemporary Art
Paint, Silver Gelatin
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic
1960s Contemporary Art
Paper
2010s Contemporary Art
Lithograph, Offset
2010s Contemporary Art
Archival Pigment