James Bonstow Calmer Skies
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Landscape Paintings
Oil, Canvas
2010s Contemporary Still-life Paintings
Oil, Canvas, Mixed Media, Wax
People Also Browsed
Early 20th Century English Paintings
Canvas, Paint, Wood
Vintage 1970s Canadian Native American Native American Objects
Pine
Artist Comments
Calm waters meet the rocky shore in this view of the Great Lakes. A soft orange glow peeks behind the clouds, giving faint illumination to the scene. The detail...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Canvas, Wood
Antique Late 19th Century Russian Baroque Paintings
Gesso, Canvas, Giltwood, Paint
1950s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil
20th Century Landscape Paintings
Oil, Panel
20th Century American Folk Art Paintings
Wood, Oak
Early 20th Century French Art Deco Animal Sculptures
Bronze
Early 19th Century Victorian Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Pop Art Abstract Prints
Other Medium, Pencil, Lithograph
2010s Neo-Expressionist Animal Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
2010s Constructivist Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Wood Panel
20th Century American Neoclassical Paintings
Early 2000s Paintings
Paint
James Bonstow for sale on 1stDibs
James Bonstow is a self-taught artist but has decades worth of art experience from working as an antique dealer before becoming a full-time artist. Bonstow works with speed while painting, and this is reflective in his original canvases with a monotone palette.
A Close Look at 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.
Finding the Right abstract-paintings for You
Bring audacious experiments with color and textures to your living room, dining room or home office. Abstract paintings, large or small, will stand out in your space, encouraging conversation and introducing a museum-like atmosphere that’s welcoming and conducive to creating memorable gatherings.
Abstract art has origins in 19th-century Europe, but it came into its own as a significant movement during the 20th century. Early practitioners of abstraction included Wassily Kandinsky, although painters were exploring nonfigurative art prior to the influential Russian artist’s efforts, which were inspired by music and religion. Abstract painters endeavored to create works that didn’t focus on the outside world’s conventional subjects, and even when artists depicted realistic subjects, they worked in an abstract mode to do so.
In 1940s-era New York City, a group of painters working in the abstract mode created radical work that looked to European avant-garde artists as well as to the art of ancient cultures, prioritizing improvisation, immediacy and direct personal expression. While they were never formally affiliated with one another, we know them today as Abstract Expressionists.
The male contingent of the Abstract Expressionists, which includes Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Robert Motherwell, is frequently cited in discussing leading figures of this internationally influential postwar art movement. However, the women of Abstract Expressionism, such as Helen Frankenthaler, Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell and others, were equally involved in the art world of the time. Sexism, family obligations and societal pressures contributed to a long history of their being overlooked, but the female Abstract Expressionists experimented vigorously, developed their own style and produced significant bodies of work.
Draw your guests into abstract oil paintings across different eras and countries of origin. On 1stDibs, you’ll find an expansive range of abstract paintings along with a guide on how to arrange your wonderful new wall art.
If you’re working with a small living space, a colorful, oversize work can create depth in a given room, but there isn’t any need to overwhelm your interior with a sprawling pièce de résistance. Colorful abstractions of any size can pop against a white wall in your living room, but if you’re working with a colored backdrop, you may wish to stick to colors that complement the decor that is already in the space. Alternatively, let your painting make a statement on its own, regardless of its surroundings, or group it, gallery-style, with other works.