Rene Perez

An abstract painter inspired by Product Design, Graphic Design and Architecture, David E. Peterson was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1979. He has exhibited his work throughout the United States, Argentina, Europe and Asia. Peterson’s work is included in the collections of the Museum of New Art (Detroit), Progressive Art Collection, Bilzin and Sumberg, Home Depot, Related Group, among many others. His work has been profiled on Forbes, Loft Magazine, Southern Living, CNN and Detroit Free Press. He holds a BFA from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI. He was named "One of the Top 20 Professionals Under 40" in Miami's Brickell Magazine. His installation JCrew Women's Tops & Bottoms was also featured in New York Magazine, Design (Spring 2013). Peterson was featured in “New American Paintings”, Issue 112”, which was curated by Rene Morales of the Perez Museum (summer, 2014). " Industrial Design informs my work. Inspiration might come from a brightly-colored sneaker, an eye-catching dress, an intricate watch or a well-arranged print ad. Once my interest is captured, I immediately begin translating the design into my work. I begin the process by systematically identifying the most important elements of industrial design. I am looking at color, line, shape, scale and finish. These key traits are broken down, then reconstructed as the foundation for my composition in Photoshop. This computer rendering becomes my mock-up and I refer to it as I build my panel, paint it and apply the finish. My studio becomes an artist’s assembly line; the result is a precise Art Object. I find this order by reducing the elements in the system that contrasts a state of entropy with a predetermined structural order that is based on the principles of design and architecture. The pieces are acrylic paint, MDF, and exotic wood in layers of resin. The resin creates depth and enables the piece to be viewed on multiple levels." Peterson’s work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of New Art in Detroit, as well as many other notable public and private art collections.

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.

If you’re thinking about decorating your space with abstract sculpture, there are a couple of things to keep in mind.

You don’t have to look for a piece that demands attention. Find a work of abstract sculpture that speaks to you. As is the case with any abstract art, whether it’s sculpture, an abstract painting or a grouping of prints, you can select a work for your living room or dining room, for example, that will either casually fade into the background or serve as a focal point. When you’re thinking about how to arrange your furniture and decor, consider color, texture and what kind of energy you’d like a specific room or corner to evoke. Abstract sculpture can go a long way in elevating a home, and its history is interesting if you’re shopping for a new piece today.

As a pioneer in naturalistic forms and figures that vividly express emotion, Auguste Rodin is often called the father of modern sculpture. His work in the 19th and early 20th century broke with artistic conventions and inspired modernism, leading to a new period of avant-garde abstraction.

Among the first artists to push abstract sculpture into the mainstream were Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. They helped define the movement of Cubism, which focused on deconstructing the world abstractly.

Later in the 20th century, the artistic movements of Italian Futurism, Dadaism, Neo-Dadaism, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism and minimalism all contributed to the advancement of new and more abstract sculpture designs. Italian Futurism, for example, celebrated movement, dynamics and technology in abstract sculpture. These movements passed down ideas that continue to inform abstract sculpture today.

Browse a range of modern abstract sculptures, postmodern abstract sculptures and other kinds of sculpture on 1stDibs.