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.
Small Town Love - Contemporary, 21st Century, Polaroid, Portrait, Color
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
'Small Town Love' (Last Picture Show), 2006, 20x20cm, Edition 3/10. Digital C-Print, based on a Polaroid, Certificate and Signature label, artist Inventory No 1029.15, not mounted ...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
$447
Penny Lane and Dreamgirl (Chicks and Chicks and sometimes Cocks) - Polaroid
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Penny Lane and Dreamgirl (Chicks and Chicks and sometimes Cocks) - 2019 20x24cm, Edition of 10. Digital C-Print, based on a Polaroid. Artist inventory 19139. Signature label and Cer...
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
$447
Penny Lane (Chicks and Chicks and sometimes Cocks) - Polaroid, Contemporary
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Penny Lane (Chicks and Chicks and sometimes Cocks) - 2019 - 20x24cm, Edition of 10. Digital C-Print, based on a Polaroid. Artist inventory 19141. Signature label and Certificate. N...
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
$4,706
White Plastic Bucket - Stay - with Ryan Gosling - from his Memory Sequence
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
White Plastic Bucket (Stay), from Ryan Gosling's memory sequence. 2006, 85x85cm, 4 pieces, each 39x38.5cm, Edition 2/5, analog C-Prints, printed by the artist on Fuji Archive Crysta...
Metal
$1,600Sale Price|32% Off
Girl at Fence (Last Picture Show) - mounted, analog
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Girl at Fence (Last Picture Show) - 2005 58x56cm, Edition 1/5, Analog C-Print, hand-printed by the artist. Mounted on Aluminum with matte UV-Protection. Artist inventory number:...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
Renée's Dream XIII (Days of Heaven) - Landscape, Horse, Polaroid, 21st Century
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Renée's Dream XIII (Days of Heaven). Part of the 29 Palms, CA project - 2006 20x20cm, Edition of 10 Archival C-Print, based on a Polaroid. Signature label and certificate. Artist...
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
Boy with Silver Mask (Stay)
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Boy with Silver Mask (Stay) - 2006 37x36cm, Edition of 30, Archival C-Print, based on a Polaroid. Certificate and Signature label artist Inventory #5606. Not mounted. Torsten ...
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
Haley and the Bird Man (Haley and the Birds) - Polaroid, 21st Century, analog
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Haley and the Bird Man (Haley and the Birds) - 2013 105x100cm, Edition of 5, analog C-Print, hand-printed by the artist on Crystal Fuji Archive Paper, matte surface, based on a P...
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
Loading the Gun (Wastelands) hand printed analog C-Print, based on a Polaroid
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Loading the Gun (Wastelands) - 2003 57x56cm, Edition of 5, analog C-Print, hand-printed by the artist on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper, based on the Polaroid, Artist inventory Number...
Photographic Paper, Archival Paper, Polaroid, Color, C Print
Pool at Night (Suburbia) - Contemporary, Polaroid
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Pool at Night (Suburbia) 2004, 50x50cm, Edition of of 10, digital C-Print based on an expired Polaroid. Signature label with Certificate, unmounted. The project "Suburbia" was shot...
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
Maiden Dance (Chicks and Chicks) - Polaroid, Contemporary, Color
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Maiden Dance (Chicks and Chicks and sometimes Cocks) - 2017 Edition of 10, 50x50cm, Digital C-Print, based on a Polaroid. Artist inventory 20216. Not mounted. The 'Chicks and Chi...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
If I could fly (Chicks and Chicks and sometimes Cocks)
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
If I could fly (Chicks and Chicks and sometimes Cocks) - 2017 50x50cm, Edition of 10. Digital C-Print, based on a Polaroid. Artist inventory 20058. Signature label and Certificate. ...
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
A Man and a Woman - abstract in bathroom (Sidewinder) - Polaroid, 21st Century
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
A Man and a Woman - abstract in bathroom (Sidewinder), triptych - 2005 Edition of 10, installed 20x70cm including gaps, 20x20cm each. Digital C-Print, based on a Polaroid. Artist In...
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
$588
Boccia VII (Beachshoot ) with Radha Mitchell -Polaroid, Contemporary, Women
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Boccia VII (Beachshoot) - 2005 38x36cm, Edition of 10. Digital C-Print, based on a Polaroid. Certificate and Signature label. Artist Inventory # 1467. Not mounted. featuring Camil...
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
$2,070Sale Price|20% Off
The Mystic - Circle of Magic (29 Palms, CA)- Polaroid, Figurative, Woman
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
The Mystic - Circle of Magic (29 Palms, CA), - 2009 Edition 3/5 , 37x47cm. Analog C-Print, hand-printed by the artist on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper, based on a Polaroid, Artist i...
Metal
'Margarita smokes in Bathroom' (Till Death do us Part) - Polaroid, Contemporary
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Margarita Smokes in Bathroom (Till Death do us Part), 2007, 40x50cm, Edition 1/5, analog C-Print, printed by the artist, mounted on Aluminum with matte UV-Protection based on an o...
Metal
$823
Homesteading (Heavenly Falls) - Polaroid, Contemporary, 21st Century, Color
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Homesteading (Heavenly Falls) 2016, 50x50cm, Edition 2/10, digital C-Print based on a Polaroid. Certificate and signature label. Artist inventory number: 19655.02 Not mounted S...
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid