Contemporary Art believe it or not, has several dictionary definitions, some of them conflicting.
Generally defined as art which was produced during the last half of the nineteenth century to the second half of the twentieth century, it is more widely used today as a term describing art from the turn of the 19th-20th century up until present times.
Online, I have found that through popular usage, terms get confused and people sometimes say “modern art” when they are, in fact referring to contemporary artwork.
Contemporary Oil Paintings Fig 1
Does this mean that an artist painting today is a contemporary artist, even if they are working in a traditional style? By definition, it does.
When I was studying the internet, reading about contemporary art, it seems to be measured in terms of money and art sales. Who has sold the most art in recent times. The list of the most successful contemporary artists cosists mainly of Chinese painter. The Western painters who are most widely recognised are Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst (I love to follow his Twitter page), Madonna‘s previous boyfriend, the late Jean-Michel Baquiat and Richard Prince.
Among the world’s most highly sought-after artists are Zhang Xiaogang, Zeng Fanzhi and Yue Minjun.
I find it slightly frustrating that in trying to let people see my paintings I have to label it. Not simply with simple words like “Landscape” or “Figurative Painting” but with terms such as contemporary artwork, which at first, although it may not seem complex, has different meanings to different people.
For what it’s worth , I have laid the art galleries on this website out as simply as possible, the heading for the entire site could be Joe Hendry “Contemporary Art”. It’s not just about having art for sale online, the reason for this website to exist is, as a first point, jsut to let people see what this contemporary painter is up to on a day to day basis.
