Julyan Davis

Greg Decker has been a professional oil painter for 35 years. Currently living just outside of Nashville Tennessee, his early influences were European and African. He was raised in Congo (Belgian Congo/Africa) and that still shows through in his work. Decker holds two MFA degrees from Cranbrook Academy of Art (MI) and the New York Academy of Art (NYC). He studied with Leland Bell, Fairfield Porter, John Moore, Vincent Desiderio and Martha Erlebacher and was recommended by Jack Levine and George Tooker to spend two seasons painting at The MacDowell Colony (NH). He spent 12 years in Philadelphia, then 12 years in New York City, where he taught at both MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art as a Visual Teaching Artist through Lincoln Center Institute. Decker at home lectured in museums and galleries and during this time spent valuable time in Europe (UK, France, Italy) painting and studying major collections. One series of 20 drawings was completed in two weeks in a hotel room in Rome and spent much time painting in Brittany. Currently, he is planning to be in France, teaching in Valmondois (outside of Paris) with Amelie de Gaulle's "France With Friends" cultural immersion adventure. Teaching his series of workshops in painting, Decker moved to Nashville (TN) and Asheville (NC) for a total of eight years, during which time he began sculpting (figure/clay), produced etchings and woodcuts. He immersed himself in literature and poetry and this continues to deeply influence my work. After five years in New Mexico, where he produced his frieze paintings, he returned to Nashville to stay, choosing a studio outside of town, where the landscape is a constant source of inspiration. He continues to paint prolifically, read profusely, write sporadically and enjoy music continually: mostly choral, solo piano, hard soul, early psychedelia, obscure and inimitable garage music.

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.

Animal paintings depict the beauty and power of nature in an elegant way that can complement any room. Interacting with animals has long captured the imagination and has been interpreted in diverse artistic media.

Some of the oldest works of art have included animals, such as a cave painting found in Indonesia dating back more than 45,500 years that shows a wild pig in red ocher pigment. Animals have continued to appear in every era and style of art, from realism to Pop art and everything in between.

Some paintings portray animals in their natural habitat, highlighting the majesty of wild creatures roaming the plains, forests and jungles. These paintings often feature deer, tigers, wild mustangs and other wildlife. Others focus on domestic animals such as dogs — pay a visit to the Museum of the Dog if you don’t believe us — as well as cats and how they interact with the world and their owners.

Picking the right animal painting for a room — as well as knowing how to arrange your new wall art — can take time. But, in the end, it will tastefully reflect your interests and passions. While an expansive landscape painting helps open up a small space, hanging a horse painting in a den shows a love for equine culture and can invite interesting conversation.

There is animal art to fit every collection on 1stDibs. Explore a wide selection of animal paintings and animal prints in a range of styles and designs to match any home or office.