Gustav Dore
Early 20th Century Victorian Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Contemporary Prints and Multiples
Digital Pigment
2010s Contemporary Prints and Multiples
Digital Pigment
2010s Contemporary Prints and Multiples
Digital Pigment
2010s Contemporary Prints and Multiples
Digital Pigment
2010s Contemporary Prints and Multiples
Digital Pigment
2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
People Also Browsed
1980s Post-War Landscape Paintings
Cotton, Oil, Canvas
2010s American Realist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
17th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings
Oil
17th Century Old Masters Paintings
Oil
20th Century French Floor Lamps
Crystal
1890s Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Oil, Canvas
1940s Modern More Prints
Lithograph
19th Century Old Masters Interior Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
1920s Expressionist Figurative Prints
Offset, Lithograph
1850s Victorian Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Prints and Multiples
Lithograph
1960s Victorian Landscape Paintings
Oil, Canvas
Late 19th Century Victorian Figurative Paintings
Oil, Canvas
19th Century Victorian Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
19th Century Victorian Landscape Paintings
Oil, Canvas
1980s Pop Art Abstract Prints
Archival Paper, Screen
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.