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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
Ploumanac'h Lighthouse, Architecture Photography, Brittany, France - limited
Ploumanac'h Lighthouse, Architecture Photography, Brittany, France - limited

Ploumanac'h Lighthouse, Architecture Photography, Brittany, France - limited

By Gerald Berghammer

Located in Vienna, Vienna

Gerald Berghammer - Black and white landscape photograph of a tall lighthouse on a rocky coast, with a small bridge and large rocks in foreground. Digital pigment ink print, edition...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital Pigment

GUARDIAN ANGEL by Paula Craioveanu - original art
GUARDIAN ANGEL by Paula Craioveanu - original art

GUARDIAN ANGEL by Paula Craioveanu - original art

By Paula Craioveanu

Located in Forest Hills, NY

"Guardian Angel” 27.5x19.5in / 70x50cm Pencil and sepia ink on watercolor paper. Shipped rolled in a tube, directly from the artist's studio. Shipping anywhere in the world. Registe...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Paper, Tempera

Serie Dibujos Felices 10 - Original Red Blue Watercolor and Ink Artwork on Paper
Serie Dibujos Felices 10 - Original Red Blue Watercolor and Ink Artwork on Paper

Serie Dibujos Felices 10 - Original Red Blue Watercolor and Ink Artwork on Paper

By "Sergio ""Valenz"" Valenzuela"

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Sergio Valenzuela “Valenz” is a contemporary Guatemalan artist who tells stories with everyday objects, primarily expressing them with graphite and acrylic on canvas. His artworks pr...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Ink, Mixed Media, Watercolor, Archival Paper

Looking Beyond 8 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Africa Women
Looking Beyond 8 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Africa Women

Looking Beyond 8 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Africa Women

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

No matter what life throws at you to discourage or change your good personality, or change the reflections people see on your face or identity, one should try to look beyond and ahea...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Three Pink Lotus Flowers, Mekong Delta, Vietnam — Large-Scale Panorama Photo
Three Pink Lotus Flowers, Mekong Delta, Vietnam — Large-Scale Panorama Photo

Three Pink Lotus Flowers, Mekong Delta, Vietnam — Large-Scale Panorama Photo

By Gerald Berghammer

Located in Vienna, Vienna

Archival pigment ink print, produced in a limited edition of 7 // Gallery ID: 21378 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

View of Venice, cityscape panorama, Santa Maria della Salute - limited edition
View of Venice, cityscape panorama, Santa Maria della Salute - limited edition

View of Venice, cityscape panorama, Santa Maria della Salute - limited edition

By Gerald Berghammer

Located in Vienna, Vienna

Gerald Berghammer - Color cityscape photography. View of Venice cityscape featuring Campanile di San Marco, historical buildings, and domed structures. All Gerald Berghammer prints ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Digital Pigment

Telephone VII, Palm Springs, California - Vintage Interior Color Photography
Telephone VII, Palm Springs, California - Vintage Interior Color Photography

Telephone VII, Palm Springs, California - Vintage Interior Color Photography

By Richard Heeps

Located in Cambridge, GB

Telephone VII, vintage interior photograph from Richard Heeps' series, Dream in Colour. Captured in the cool Ballantines Movie Colony, Palm Springs this artwork combines gorgeous col...

Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin

At One with Nature
At One with Nature

At One with Nature

Located in Zofingen, AG

At One with Nature is a contemplative landscape that explores the quiet harmony between human presence and the natural world. Figures appear gently integrated into the greenery, not ...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Foggy Slave Cliff – Faroe Islands – Black and White Landscape – Limited Edition
Foggy Slave Cliff – Faroe Islands – Black and White Landscape – Limited Edition

Foggy Slave Cliff – Faroe Islands – Black and White Landscape – Limited Edition

By Gerald Berghammer

Located in Vienna, Vienna

Archival pigment ink print, produced in a limited edition of 7 // Gallery ID: 21352 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

Minimalist Waterscape with Lotus Flowers, Black and White Photograph, Vietnam
Minimalist Waterscape with Lotus Flowers, Black and White Photograph, Vietnam

Minimalist Waterscape with Lotus Flowers, Black and White Photograph, Vietnam

By Gerald Berghammer

Located in Vienna, Vienna

Archival pigment ink print, produced in a limited edition of 7 // Gallery ID: 21348 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

St. Nectans Glen, Waterfall, England, monochrome photograph waterscape limited
St. Nectans Glen, Waterfall, England, monochrome photograph waterscape limited

St. Nectans Glen, Waterfall, England, monochrome photograph waterscape limited

By Gerald Berghammer

Located in Vienna, Vienna

Archival pigment ink print, produced in a limited edition of 7 // Gallery ID: 21370 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

Cherry Blossom, ceramic, sculpture, original art
Cherry Blossom, ceramic, sculpture, original art

Cherry Blossom, ceramic, sculpture, original art

Located in Deddington, GB

porcelain wall installation comprising of 130 hand sculpted flowers fixed directly into the wall. Additional information: Ceramic on Stone Edition of 1 20 H x 10 W x 10 D cm (7.87 x ...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Ceramic

"Cairn #2 (5 Stack)" Stacked Takeout Containers Porcelain Sculpture
"Cairn #2 (5 Stack)" Stacked Takeout Containers Porcelain Sculpture

"Cairn #2 (5 Stack)" Stacked Takeout Containers Porcelain Sculpture

By Yoonmi Nam

Located in Philadelphia, PA

"Cairn #2 (5 Stack)" is an original green ceramic sculpture by Yoonmi Nam made from directly slip casting the negative space of precariously stacked takeout containers and finishing ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Porcelain, Glaze

Angela West "Sweet Sixteen #13" Figurative color photograph of young girl
Angela West "Sweet Sixteen #13" Figurative color photograph of young girl

Angela West "Sweet Sixteen #13" Figurative color photograph of young girl

By Angela West

Located in East Quogue, NY

Large portrait of a teenage girl seated in orange prom dress, titled "Sweet Sixteen #13" by Angela West. Chromogenic dye coupler print on paper. Limited Edition #1/16. Print is offered framed. Print size: 20 x 16 inches Frame size: 27 x 23 inches Angela West's "Sweet 16" series is a collection of portraits taken in Dahlonega, Georgia and based on a photograph of the artist herself at 16 years old. The subjects were neither instructed nor prompted beyond the notion that they were having a "formal" portrait made. Using the conventions of the studio, Ms. West creates portraits that allude to society painting, but with one social class of subjects standing in for another. The purpose of photographic portraiture is to document an appearance on a particular day, or at a certain age. These portraits underscore an expectation of beauty particular to the South, while decoding "16" as a universal female condition. The young girls' dress, makeup, and posture provide subtle references to personality and social status while also capturing the process of "becoming" - either in their masquerade of proper feminine behavior or quietly defying the social demand of civilized femininity. teenager, prom, portrait photography, color photography, figurative photography, contemporary photography, limited edition, orange, female portrait, girl portrait, female artist, fashion, teen art,

Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Art

Materials

Color

Mother India II, Delhi - India Color Street Photograph of Books
Mother India II, Delhi - India Color Street Photograph of Books

Mother India II, Delhi - India Color Street Photograph of Books

By Richard Heeps

Located in Cambridge, GB

Mother India, photograph from Richard Heeps series 'The Ambassador's Window', a pilgrimage from Kerala in the South to Meerut in the North, the birthplace of his Grandfather. As boo...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin

Mixed Feeling 3 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Modern, Women
Mixed Feeling 3 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Modern, Women

Mixed Feeling 3 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Modern, Women

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

“Mixed Feelings” is a visual series that captures the emotional complexity of Black womanhood, strength, softness, pride, visibility, and invisibility. Each portrait in this series h...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Canvas, Charcoal, Mixed Media, Acrylic

GDP Flower Thrower (Framed)
GDP Flower Thrower (Framed)

GDP Flower Thrower (Framed)

By Banksy

Located in Manchester, GB

Banksy, GDP Flower Thrower, 2019 One colour screenprint on 50 gsm paper Unframed: 57.5 x 76.5 cm (22.63 x 30.11 in) Framed: 78.5 x 97.5 cm (30.91 x 38.39 in) Limited Edition (Unkn...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Screen

Free Space Panorama - color gondola, cityscape - Venice, Italy - limited edition
Free Space Panorama - color gondola, cityscape - Venice, Italy - limited edition

Free Space Panorama - color gondola, cityscape - Venice, Italy - limited edition

By Gerald Berghammer

Located in Vienna, Vienna

Gerald Berghammer - Color long exposure photography. Gondolas docked on calm water with Venice cityscape, church bell tower and historic buildings. Archival pigment ink print as par...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Digital Pigment

"Showstopper" 18K Gold & Diamond Unique Guitar Strap by Colin Burn
"Showstopper" 18K Gold & Diamond Unique Guitar Strap by Colin Burn

"Showstopper" 18K Gold & Diamond Unique Guitar Strap by Colin Burn

By Colin Burn

Located in Culver City, CA

"Showstopper" 18K Gold & Diamond Unique Guitar Strap by Colin Burn Medium: Leather,18K Yellow Gold, Diamonds, Rubies,Sapphires & Emeralds ATT: strap only - guitar not included. N...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Gold

Cobbolds Point Color - minimalist panorama seascape - color photography, limited
Cobbolds Point Color - minimalist panorama seascape - color photography, limited

Cobbolds Point Color - minimalist panorama seascape - color photography, limited

By Gerald Berghammer

Located in Vienna, Vienna

Gerald Berghammer - Color seascape panorama photography. Concrete breakwater structures on a beach extending into the water, with a pole at the end. Archival pigment ink print as pa...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Digital Pigment

Bird. Reunited After Separation, Original Painting
Bird. Reunited After Separation, Original Painting

Bird. Reunited After Separation, Original Painting

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Two grey herons reunite at a lake. One stands in the shallow water while the other returns in flight. The birds appear in a stylized manner against the water, s...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Acrylic

Seascape XVIII Diptych - large scale abstract monochromatic ocean water surface
Seascape XVIII Diptych - large scale abstract monochromatic ocean water surface

Seascape XVIII Diptych - large scale abstract monochromatic ocean water surface

By Frank Schott

Located in San Francisco, CA

Large format abstract photograph diptych of mesmerizing water surface and ephemeral abstract ripple patterns from a series of photographic works capturing the monochromatic oceanic b...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Giclée, Archival Pigment

Arrest of the Palateros, by Chicano artist Frank Romero
Arrest of the Palateros, by Chicano artist Frank Romero

Arrest of the Palateros, by Chicano artist Frank Romero

By Frank Romero

Located in Palm Springs, CA

Arrest of the Palateros is one of Frank Romero’s most compelling social-commentary images, depicting the arrest of palateros—ice-cream vendors—in Echo Park for operating without perm...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Screen

Waterfall into the Ocean, Gásadalur, Faroe Islands – Black and White Photograph
Waterfall into the Ocean, Gásadalur, Faroe Islands – Black and White Photograph

Waterfall into the Ocean, Gásadalur, Faroe Islands – Black and White Photograph

By Gerald Berghammer

Located in Vienna, Vienna

Archival pigment ink print, produced in a limited edition of 7 // Gallery ID: 21354 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

Halong Bay, Vietnam – Limited-Edition Minimalist Black and White Photograph
Halong Bay, Vietnam – Limited-Edition Minimalist Black and White Photograph

Halong Bay, Vietnam – Limited-Edition Minimalist Black and White Photograph

By Gerald Berghammer

Located in Vienna, Vienna

Archival pigment ink print, produced in a limited edition of 7 // Gallery ID: 21367 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

Seascape XVI - large format photograph of monochrome water surface and clouds
Seascape XVI - large format photograph of monochrome water surface and clouds

Seascape XVI - large format photograph of monochrome water surface and clouds

By Frank Schott

Located in San Francisco, CA

Mesmerizing large scale photograph from artist's Seascape series, a body of works capturing the tactile surfaces and monochromatic nature of oceanic water and cloudscapes Seascape ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art

Materials

Archival Pigment, Giclée, Photographic Paper, Archival Paper, Archival Ink

Monkey Drip
Monkey Drip

Monkey Drip

By Banksy

Located in Washington , DC, DC

After Banksy. Special release, only available at the Medicom Toy Exhibition in Tokyo. Produced by Brandalism with Medicom and Sync. Brand new never displayed and comes with the origi...

Category

2010s Contemporary Art

Materials

Resin

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.