Susanne Kurdahl Vesterheden

With her invigorating life energy, Danish (Copenhagen) contemporary artist Susanne Kurdahl Vesterheden (1967 - ) captivates us all with her colorful and tranquil landscape and floral paintings. 

Susanne's refined visual instinct burgeoned from a young age, revealing a deep connection with the vibrant world of florals and their multifarious artistic potential. Over the years, she has embraced various mediums, creating cherished floral arrangements, handmade paper florals, and since 2009, she has also created enchanting contemporary abstract paintings. Notably, Susanne’s delicate handmade paper florals are presented at prominent Danish museums, including The Hirschsprung Collection and the Museum of Karen Blixen.

The Nordic landscapes, abundant with wildflowers and breathtaking ocean views, have always been Susanne's wellspring of inspiration. It is within the exploration of the harmony and synchronicity between nature's raw beauty and delicate structures that she creatively thrives. She has found her personal contemporary style, where she skillfully embraces various abstraction levels and (floral) seasonality. With her full confidence, she will mix e.g. the rapeseed yellow of spring with the autumnal deep purples of heather, ensuring that each motive remains mesmerizing and intriguing.

"It's all about adding something - like a color - and creating a fresh harmony among the things you already have." - Susanne Kurdahl Vesterheden (2020)

Susanne's artistic signature lies not only in her consistent subject matter, which includes landscapes, seascapes, and florals but also in her playful and vibrant color palettes that are elevated through her unique layering method. Each painting is meticulously crafted, with various motifs carefully painted atop one another. This intentional layering is an important piece of Susanne's process as it allows the hidden depths and new perspectives of the paintings to be revealed gradually, and as such inviting viewers to embark on a visual journey of exploration and immersion.

The characteristic of Susanne's paintings is their ability to radiate a sense of joy, harmony, and tranquility, deeply resonating with both commercial and residential customers. Their allure draws collectors back time and again to acquire more of her creations, as they are captivated by the emotional connection her art evokes. 

(Artist bio provided by Gadé Allure)

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.

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.