Contemporary art

Contemporary art includes works of art produced during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The designation generally refers to art produced to this day after the art movement of modernism.

Contemporary artworks are often a reflection of the individual artists and thus reflect a great diversity of perspectives. This makes contemporary art a complex investigation of current life. Common themes that can be explored include: identity, the body, technology, globalization, migration, society, culture, memory, the passage of time and artistic critique of socio-political institutions.

To put it in the simplest terms possible, there are three points by which to define contemporary art:

1. Contemporary art refers specifically to the art of today. It is produced by artists who live in our current times. Contemporary artworks are defined by the time period in which they were created. This is regardless of the style, medium (sculpture, painting, photography, drawing, or printing), or artistic movement they belong to.
2. Contemporary art provides opportunities to reflect on society. It often reflects issues or values that are important or talked about in the world at this time. It is part of an ongoing conversation that touches on topics such as identity, community, nationality, spirituality, politics, and more.
3. Contemporary art relates to practices and aesthetic designs that convey ideas or concepts (such as conceptual art). It transcends boundaries between art and what traditionally is not considered art (performance art). It goes beyond the borders of art as it is understood within the modern and classical art periods.

As we have already touched on, contemporary art’s most memorable characteristic is, ironically, the fact that it has no single characteristic. It is defined by the artist’s ability to innovate and bring out a modern masterpiece that is relevant to the current times.