Ammama Malik
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Oil
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Oil
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Oil
People Also Browsed
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Textile, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Textile, Wood
Vintage 1930s American Art Deco Paintings
Canvas, Wood
Antique 18th Century Spanish Baroque Religious Items
Iron
Antique Mid-19th Century European Baroque Floor Lamps
Iron, Wrought Iron
2010s American Impressionist Portrait Paintings
Panel, Oil
1930s American Modern Nude Paintings
Gouache, Board
Antique Early 18th Century Italian Baroque Figurative Sculptures
Terracotta
Antique Mid-17th Century European Baroque Architectural Models
Wood, Giltwood
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil, Linen, Panel
Late 20th Century Italian Baroque Table Lamps
Copper
Antique Late 17th Century Italian Baroque Figurative Sculptures
Pine
Vintage 1960s Spanish Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Wood, Paint, Canvas, Linen
1990s Realist Portrait Paintings
Oil
Antique Mid-19th Century Italian Baroque Wall Lights and Sconces
Iron
Antique 19th Century Italian Art Nouveau Drawings
Paper, Wood
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 figurative-paintings for You
Figurative art, as opposed to abstract art, retains features from the observable world in its representational depictions of subject matter. Most commonly, figurative paintings reference and explore the human body, but they can also include landscapes, architecture, plants and animals — all portrayed with realism.
While the oldest figurative art dates back tens of thousands of years to cave wall paintings, figurative works made from observation became especially prominent in the early Renaissance. Artists like Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and other Renaissance masters created naturalistic representations of their subjects.
Pablo Picasso is lauded for laying the foundation for modern figurative art in the 1920s. Although abstracted, this work held a strong connection to representing people and other subjects. Other famous figurative artists include Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud. Figurative art in the 20th century would span such diverse genres as Expressionism, Pop art and Surrealism.
Today, a number of figural artists — such as Sedrick Huckaby, Daisy Patton and Eileen Cooper — are making art that uses the human body as its subject.
Because figurative art represents subjects from the real world, natural colors are common in these paintings. A piece of figurative art can be an exciting starting point for setting a tone and creating a color palette in a room.
Browse an extensive collection of figurative paintings on 1stDibs.
Read More
For Oliver Lee Jackson, Painting Is a Fierce and Sacred Matter
The artist and activist is the subject of a new show at Washington, D.C.'s National Gallery of Art.
13 of Lucian Freud’s Larger-Than-Life Nudes Are on View
Manhattan's Acquavella Galleries is showing a group of the artist's monumental works that have never been seen together.
This Wiener Werkstätte Master Made Everything into Art
Koloman Moser smashed the conservative conventions of art and design in fin-de-siècle Vienna. On the 100th anniversary of his death, the Austrian designer is being celebrated for his radically modern creations.