Paul Kaptein On Sale

Paul Kaptein is one of the only few artists that has been in Hatched (the national survey of recent graduates held annually at PICA) twice (1999 and 2000). He was in it both as a TAFE graduate and as a Curtin graduate. His work revolves around a remixed present. Replaying the moment – graduating twice in two years and reliving Hatched - seems pretty apt. In Paul’s case, perhaps this déjà vu becomes the artwork - a shameless and blatant example of disrupting the natural progression of time. Of course, this is a simplistic notion - the progression of time that is - in the face of the en-clouding nature of the fabric of this universe. But the constant tension that creates ebbs and flows, springs and strings and the enfolding of material and energetic collapsing that we call time - is just that - a simplistic notion - and the overlapping nature of events, the bizarre consequence of an artist concerned with the materiality of time being in the same place for the same occasion on two different days - suggests that the universe has more than growth and collapse, birth and rebirth to drive it - it also has a wicked sense of humor. This is, of course, all laid out in the hitchhiker’s companion to galaxy travel. His confounding interest in the immaterial as an expression of the overt reliance (and ignorance of the composition) of materialism as a somewhat naive description of reality has always intersected his fond enjoyment of metaphors, riddles and other transient quips that show a sharp mind dissecting the ineptitude of language. Paul desires to work in the woods. Wood’s growth is dependent on the gaps in the universe – pushing through the soil, climbing into space. Wood in itself seems like a not-too-subtle reminder of how the material is made up of much negative space. That Paul has decided to use laminated wood only enhances this feeling - the panels slip and slide, creating their holes, which exasperates the gaps in the fabric of the universe. As Paul puts it - the laminated wood starts the enactment of key principles: expansion and contraction, interconnection and incompleteness. Once again, the material processes of Paul’s push toward immaterialism - finding life through the dissection of (material) language. In this sense, Paul is asking language, the description of materialism, as a process, in this case, to become the energetic impact of the work, the spark that ignites the fusion that creates transformation (which in itself is form). His figures are alive only under this weight of knowing: of knowing that their hold on temporality is misconstrued as some sort of knowing. Their seeming emergence from the history of art, subcultures and sport - of referencing artists, icons and mythologies - of anticipated potential futures - is the counterpoint to their being vehicles toward discussing emptiness, broken data streams, hand skilling, interruptions of information networks and time/always time. Paul’s work remixes the immaterial into the material, language into disassociation, the artists into the VJ - creation only happens when the natural flow is interrupted - when light is pulled in, when matter is enfolded, when stars die and babies cry. The spaces allow us time to catch breath. Paul’s work, though remixing the present, gives us (at least) two turns to capture the moment.

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.

Figurative sculptures mix reality and imagination, with the most common muse being the human body. Animals are also inspirations for these sculptures, along with forms found in nature.

While figurative sculpture dates back over 35,000 years, the term came into popularity in the 20th century to distinguish it from abstract art. It was aligned with the Expressionist movement in that many of its artists portrayed reality but in a nonnaturalistic and emotional way. In the 1940s, Alberto Giacometti — a Swiss-born artist who was interested in African art, Cubism and Surrealism — created now-iconic representational sculptures of the human figure, and after World War II, figurative sculpture as a movement continued to flourish in Europe.

Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon were some of the leading figurative artists during this period. Artists like Jeff Koons and Maurizio Cattelan propelled the evolution of figurative sculpture into the 21st century.

Figurative sculptures can be whimsical, uncanny and beautiful. Their materials range from stone and wood to metal and delicate ceramics. Even in smaller sizes, the sculptures make bold statements. A bronze sculpture by Salvador Dalí enhances a room; a statuesque bull by Jacques Owczarek depicts strength with its broad chest while its thin legs speak of fragility. Figurative sculptures allow viewers to see what is possible when life is reimagined.

Browse 1stDibs for an extensive collection of figurative sculptures and find the next addition to your collection.