What is contemporary art?
Contemporary art is essentially modern-day art – it refers to art that is being created in the present day. It can be created through oil paintings, photography, sculptures, installation or any type of art form. Contemporary art may seem easy to define but in fact, it’s a little complicated as many people interpret it in different ways. It has a relatively long history since its name came about in the 1970s. Therefore, although contemporary art is predominantly modern some pieces can have a long history. Just make sure you do your research before calling something ”contemporary art”. Contemporary art should aim to create realism in art. This is usually done by the incredible depiction of real-life and can be referred to as a ”hyperrealistic” piece of art. There’s always going to be new talent entering the art scene. Here are some fantastic American contemporary artists that you should know about…
Mariah Robertson
Let’s start with Mariah Robertson, an incredibly talented contemporary artist born in 1975. She focuses specifically on photography and the images that she creates are found in some of the most prestige galleries in New York City, where she currently lives. Her work has now spread internationally and you will find her photography in big cities such as London. We strongly recommended checking out some of her work! Her most well-known artwork include “The Look Out” (2017), ”On View” (2018) and “Paradoxical Abstraction” (2015). However, all of Robertson’s work is magnificent. Her work can be described as fiery, extreme and exhilarating. And an interesting fact about Robertson is that she no longer uses a camera. She does the large-scale photos with paper roll installations from her imagination. If you can see one of her exhibitions in person you will thank yourself.
Diana Al-Hadid
Diana Al-Hadid is an American-Syrian artist that was born in 1981 in Syria but moved to Virginia at a young age. She creates drawings, sculptures and sometimes installations. Hadid’s artwork is innovative and hyperrealistic. She approaches her installations from a unique process that fascinates fans of her art. With the aim to capture culture, energy and a contemporary feeling. In fact, Hadid has some exhibitions that are currently on show, so if you’re reading this now and you’re in America (or planning to visit), check them out! You’ll be nothing short of amazed. You can find the ‘Nothing is Stable’ exhibition at The Weltch Gallery At Georgia State University. And ‘Memling Now: Hans Memling in Contemporary Art’ at Sint-Jans Hospital. Her most famous and visited past exhibitions include ‘Sublimations’, ‘Delirious Matter’, ‘Aprocryhal Times’ and ‘The Fates’.
Brian Donnelly aka KAWS
Donnelly adopted the name KAWS for his professional artist and designer name. And we can agree that it’s definitely more innovative and catchy artist name. He was born in 1974 and grew up in the state of New Jersey. His career as an artist took off in the late 1900s after purchasing his very first piece of artwork. He bought a drawing by David Zwirner that he admired. It inspired him to create his own artwork. And interesting enough the Zwirner painting has ‘SWAK’ scribbled on it in one of the corners. Donnelly flipped this around in ‘KAWS’ for his own artist name and claims its an acronym for ‘sealed with a kiss’. His artwork is incredibly distinctive with bright colours blending together in a modern and graffiti way. His most famous art pieces include the ‘Micky Mouse’ scale figure and ‘MTV’s Moon Man’ statue.
