Art Sherpa

Tao Ruspoli is an Italian-American filmmaker, photographer and musician. He is the second son of occasional actor and aristocrat Prince Alessandro Ruspoli, 9th Prince of Cerveteri by Austrian-American actress Debra Berger. Tao was born in Bangkok, Thailand, and raised in Rome and Los Angeles. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. “Moviemaker” magazine singled out Ruspoli as one of the 10 Young Filmmakers To Watch in its spring 2008 issue. His feature narrative debut, Fix, was one of 10 feature films to screen in competition at the 2008 Slamdance Film Festival and soon afterward at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, where Ruspoli was awarded the Heineken Red Star Award for most innovative and progressive filmmaker. Fix also won the Festival Award for Best Film at the 2008 Brooklyn Film Festival, Vail Film Festival and the 2008 Twin Rivers Media Festival, as well as other prizes at several international festivals. His most well-known documentary is Just Say Know, a personal discussion of his family's drug addiction. His other films include Flamenco: A Personal Journey, a feature-length documentary about the flamenco way of life as it is lived by Gypsies in the south of Spain. He has directed several other short documentaries, including El Cable (also about Flamenco), and This Film Needs No Title: A Portrait of Raymond Smullyan (a portrait of the renowned logician, mathematician and concert pianist Raymond Smullyan). Tao founded LAFCO in 2000. The Los Angeles Filmmakers Cooperative is a bohemian collective of filmmakers and musicians who work out of a converted school bus. Through LAFCO, Tao has produced several films and helped dozens of filmmakers to make their first films and discover the wonders of digital media. His producing credits include the feature film Camjackers, which he also acted in and co-edited. Camjackers won the best editing award at the 44th Ann Arbor Film Festival. Tao is an accomplished flamenco guitar player, and his first CD, FLAMENCO, was released on Mapleshade Records in 2005. He married actress Olivia Wilde in 2003. They divorced in 2011. He currently lives and works in the High Desert, California. He is the co-founder of the Bombay Beach Biennale.

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.

Since the introduction of photography in the 19th century, it has been used to show the earth’s diverse landscapes. Modern and contemporary landscape photography continues to capture scenes of landscapes from around the world while becoming much more exploratory.

Historically, artists have played a key role in landscape preservation. Early 20th-century landscape photography provided a powerful argument for the establishment of the U.S. National Park Service a century ago, and iconic national park shots by Ansel Adams and Eliot Porter captured the public’s imagination and fueled conservation efforts.

The world of landscape photography has grown far more experimental in the last several decades, bolstered by innovative techniques and creative talents. Abstract landscape photography is often a thought-provoking exploration of bold, bleeding colors. To understand just how abstract these images can be, look no further than Jean-François Rauzier's outstanding landscape compositions.

A simpler style is offered by minimalist landscape photography and its subdued tones. These pieces tend to imbue their surroundings with a sense of serenity, making them an excellent addition to bedrooms and quiet living rooms. And like any other works of art that you’ve brought into your home, there are many ways to arrange photography in a space. Small areas, for example, are ideal for displaying more petite pieces. These can also be positioned in a cluster as a gallery wall. You can stand framed landscape photography on an easel, a mantelpiece, floating shelves or on the floor leaning against a wall.

Browse exquisite landscape photography on 1stDibs today and find an eye-catching image to complement any home or collection.