When it comes to art, “contemporary” means more than simply “recent”. The term describes art that is radically different from both the art of the past and the “modernism” styles that dominated early twentieth century art. The past 60 years have seen an explosion of contemporary styles around the globe, but it’s a small number of influential artists that have defined the era. These artists on the one hand explore non-traditional and sometimes surprising media, and on the other hand delve into real-world concerns like identity, psychology, celebrity, and history. Here are just a few artists and the impact they made.
Louise Bourgeois
Sculptor and installation artist Louise Bourgeois is known for her deeply personal and psychologically charged artworks that explore themes of femininity, sexuality, and the human condition. Born in Paris in 1911, Bourgeois immigrated to the United States where she became a central figure in the New York art scene.
Her haunting sculpture, Maman, features a towering 30-foot spider, a symbol of both maternal protection and menace. Through her art, Bourgeois explored the depths of the human psyche and invites viewers to confront their own fears and desires.
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol is arguably the most well-known contemporary artist and a key figure in the pop art movement of the 1960s. Warhol reshaped the contemporary art landscape with his innovative artworks that blur the lines between high art and commercial aesthetics. Transforming everyday objects and celebrities into iconic pieces of art, Warhol inaugurated and developed a symbiotic relationship between artistic expression and popular culture. Warhol himself became a celebrity, appearing at A-list events, commercials and on TV shows.
His screenprints, sculptures, films, and happenings use repetition to challenge people to reconsider the function and value of art in a consumerist society that’s steeped in mass-produced objects and images. You’ve probably seen Warhol’s Campbell's Soup Cans series, which transformed the familiar soup can into a striking motif of consumer culture and artistic expression.
Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein is another prominent figure in the pop art movement who’s celebrated for his distinctive comic book-inspired artworks. Lichtenstein’s signature style involved using “Ben-Day” dots, bold outlines, and bright colors to replicate commercial printing techniques. Like Warhol, Lichtenstein’s work challenges traditional notions of high and low art.
One of his most famous pieces, Whaam!, depicts a dramatic aerial combat scene sourced from a comic book panel. This artwork not only captures the essence of pop culture but also offers a commentary on the glorification of violence in mass media.
Ana Mendieta
Artist Ana Mendieta was born in Havana in 1948 and exiled to the United States during the Cuban Revolution. Motivated by her personal experiences, Mendieta’s artworks often explore themes of identity, displacement, and the connection between the human body and the natural world. She gained prominence in the feminist art movement of the 1970s, using her own body as a canvas to address issues of gender, ethnicity, and violence against women.
In Mendieta's Silueta series, the artist created imprints of her body in natural landscapes using materials like mud, sand, and flowers. These earth-body sculptures not only reflect her deep spiritual connection to nature but also serve as powerful symbols of female empowerment and the reclaiming of space.
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat was a pivotal figure in the 1980s New York art scene, using his art to engage with social and political issues. His expressive artworks revolve around subjects like racism, class struggle, and identity. Basquiat is also credited with introducing graffiti art to the world of high art, with his artworks finding homes in prestigious New York art galleries.
Untitled (1982) is among Basquiat's most acclaimed paintings, showcasing his raw, expressive style and integration of words, symbols, and figures. The painting features a skull-like face and has been interpreted as a commentary on mortality, identity, and the artist's internal struggles.
1980s New York
The 1980s in New York marked a significant era for contemporary art, in part due to the social issues that had arisen in big cities in that decade. “The city was nothing like it is now. The AIDS crisis was in full swing, drug use was rampant, and crime levels were stratospheric. This made for rich sources for artists, something which is historically the case as much as it is now,” says Viv Lawes, Faculty at Sotheby’s Institute of Art.
“Look at photographs of the period and you can see graffiti everywhere, most of all on the subway where it covered the trains and walkways. Basquiat's studio practice grew from his street graffiti, his experiences as a Black man, his car accident as a child, his drug addiction. It meant he absolutely embodied that most elusive of qualities in art production: authenticity.”
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Keith Haring
One of Basquiat’s contemporaries, Keith Haring was another beloved contemporary artist and activist to come out of the New York art scene in the 1980s. The bold lines, contrasting figures, and vivid colors of Haring’s street art conveyed messages of love, equality, and liberation.
One of Haring's most celebrated works is the Crack is Wack mural, a public artwork in New York City that became an icon of the 1980s. This piece uses his bold and vibrant style to communicate his sentiments about drug abuse and the government’s reaction to the crack epidemic. The mural still exists in its original location in East Harlem.
Félix González-Torres
Cuban-American artist Félix González-Torres is known for his conceptual artworks which challenge traditional notions of art and participation. González-Torres’ evocative installations and sculptures explore themes of love, loss, and identity.
One of his most notable works, Untitled (Portrait of Ross in L.A.), consists of a large pile of wrapped candies that viewers are invited to take. The 175-pound pile is suggestive of the subject of the artwork, Ross Laycock, González-Torres’ partner who died from AIDS-related complications. As viewers participate by taking pieces, the diminishing pile symbolizes the gradual loss and dispersal of a loved one. Through his use of everyday materials and participatory elements, González-Torres sought to create a sense of intimacy and connection between the artwork and the audience.
Damien Hirst
Damien Hirst, a leading figure in the Young British Artists (YBAs) movement of the 1980s, is famous for his provocative works that explore themes of death, identity, and belief. He used both unconventional materials, such as preserved animals and pharmaceuticals, and traditional mediums like painting and sculpture.
Perhaps his most famous piece is The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, which features a tiger shark preserved in formaldehyde. This work challenges viewers to engage with themes of death, preservation, and the nature of art itself.
Young British Artists (YBAs)
The Young British Artists (YBAs) movement originated at Goldsmiths College of Art in London, where many of the YBAs we know today formally studied art. “At Goldsmiths, the ethos fostered in the courses and by Michael Craig-Martin, conceptual artist and teacher at the college, broke down barriers in terms of materials and methods,” says Lawes.
“There was an entrepreneurial spirit that was arguably both a reflection of government policies and a necessary response to them. The famous exhibition Freeze, organized by Damien Hirst in 1988 when he was still a second-year student at Goldsmiths, was a testament to risk-taking and youth.”
With the initial success of Freeze and interest from moguls of the art world like Norman Rosenthal (Royal Academy), Sir Nicolas Serota (Tate), and the advertising tycoon Charles Saatchi, the YBA movement took off and Hirst and his colleagues became akin to modern day celebrities.
“There's no defining style that you can attach to them as the work was without boundaries. It has fundamentally changed the way contemporary art is regarded in Britain – it is now visible and a measure by which contemporary culture is defined,” says Lawes.
Contemporary art is shaped by the diverse voices and experiences of those who contribute to it. At its core, contemporary art emphasizes the human experience. Contemporary artworks often act as time capsules, capturing individual experiences influenced by the artist's personal narrative and societal context. Yet, these artworks continue to resonate with viewers today. In this way, contemporary art centers the universality of the human condition, cultivating connections and understanding across cultures and generations.
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