Contemporary Paintings for Sale

Сontemporary artist painting

What is a contemporary painting? The process of transition from Art Nouveau to contemporary art — famous modern contemporary paintings — began much earlier, back in the middle of the XXth century. This was largely because the center of artistic life moved from Paris and London to New York. There were several reasons for this: firstly, post-war America flourished, and art flourished in economically stable places where there are funds to invest in art, there are a sufficient number of collectors, and demand is formed that creates supply. There was also another factor — the factor of pre-war emigration (in the 1920—1940s) of European artists to the United States. The reasons for this emigration were different, but regardless of this, some European artists settled permanently in the United States even before the Second World War. These facts can explain a lot of contemporary art painting characteristics.

By this time, America did not have its significant artistic traditions, as well as a culture that had been formed over the centuries. In general, the American public and collectors, on the one hand, created a demand for something more understandable for perception, on the other hand, they were more loyal to any new trends in painting. Historically, the United States, as a young country, has embraced young art better than any other European country. America was initially more loyal to the impressionists and avant-garde artists — the influence of the salon and traditions on artistic tastes did not manifest itself to the extent that it was in Europe. At the same time, modern and avant-garde — expressionism, surrealism, cubism and so on were too difficult, too elitist for Americans. That’s why modern-day painting examples in this region are so special. As a result, the American public and artists reworked the avant-garde European heritage and integrated it into their culture. Among the most famous masters of this direction, there are:

• Mark Rothko — the founder of colorful contemporary paintings. Of course, Rothko was a modern art pics painter, and modernist, but he did a lot of things that later formed the basis of contemporary art.
• Jackson Pollock — is one of the creators of unique painting contemporary art that is known as action painting. His approach to working with the canvas already implied absolute spontaneity — Pollock dripped, splashed paint on it and even walked back and forth on it with a holed bucket from which paint flowed. One critic called his painting “drop painting”.
• Willem de Kooning — also worked with action painting, that is, not deliberately, but spontaneously.
• Robert Rauschenberg — famous for his transition in the 1950s from abstract expressionism to pop art. Rauschenberg combined painting and sculpture, creating the so-called combined painting. He used photographs, clothes, scraps of newspapers, garbage — any non-traditional items to create his contemporary painting scene.
• Claes Oldenburg — became known for making sculptures depicting ordinary objects (hamburgers, badminton shuttlecocks, forks, clothespins, etc.), but was disproportionately huge.
• Andy Warhol — known for his images of Campbell’s soup cans, as well as politicians and Hollywood stars, but his contribution to the formation of modern art, first of all, lies in the fact that he was the first to begin to replicate his works. Since then, art is no longer a unique and unrepeatable object. Even though the prices for Warhol’s works consist of six figures, there are a lot of his works made using the silk-screen printing technique to this day on the art market. By the way, all of us know the famous Warhol work — pop art lady by a contemporary painting artist. We can easily recognize Marilyn Monroe in this pic. She was a lovely model in contemporary history painting.
• Roy Lichtenstein — widely known for creating paintings based on comics and cartoons. He, like Warhol, began to use the technology of silk-screen printing, and industrial printing to design contemporary art painting piece.
• James Rosenquist — is one of the leading representatives of pop art, famous for his prints and collages.

Best contemporary paintings

So, what is contemporary painting? It is not so easy to give the contemporary painting definition and understand the contemporary painting’s meaning. It combines the entire spectrum of trends, trends and genres that have been addressed by authors from the end of the XXth century to the present day. In the context of globalization and the development of technology, artists create incredibly diverse works. It is difficult to find common features and common principles in contemporary art — it is so individual and diverse. Genres and cultural traditions interpenetrate each other, and artists continue to look for new ways of expressing themselves and current topics. We can see that contemporary painting artists are very different. Very often, they became famous because of special modern art image techniques and modern painting for-sale ideas.

What is the best work in this style? It can be defined with modern art prices. According to the ranking of the ten most expensive artists in 2008 in terms of annual sales included Francis Bacon (annual sales of works — $ 256 million), Andy Warhol (annual sales of works — $ 236 million), Damien Hirst (annual sales of works — $ 230 million), Alberto Giacometti (annual sales of works — $ 132 million), Gerhard Richter (annual sales of works — $ 122 million), Lucio Fontana (annual sales of works — $ 95 million), Yves Klein (annual sales of works — $ 91 million).

In 2009, the top three most expensive artists (the leaders of the auction market for the price for which their works were sold) included Andy Warhol (his 1962 painting “200 dollar bills” was sold for $ 39 million, the total annual sales amounted to $ 106 million) and Chinese artist Qi Baishi ( total annual sales — $ 79 million). The top three most expensive artists in 2010 again included Andy Warhol (annual sales of his work — $ 313.4 million). He is followed by Zhang Datsan (annual sales of works by the Chinese master — $ 249.1 million).

All listed artists are authors who create (or created) contemporary art. Works in this category are not only in stable demand, they are sold for record amounts, exceeding the prices of the art of the old masters. However, it is high-quality antiques that are “gold bullion”, steadily growing in price from year to year and bringing a guaranteed income to their owners. Buying contemporary art, in turn, cannot be considered a proven investment strategy. However, works in this category today are at a great price.

Contemporary-style painting

A new attitude towards art is being finally formed. Any contemporary art is an extension of old views. At the same time, it should be noted that “classical” contemporary art, as well as society and public tastes, is extremely diverse. So, pop art is much more famous among the masses than minimalism. However, this does not mean that minimalism occupies a less important place in the history of art. Popular modern contemporary painting and techniques are part of the culture. Each gallery wants to have the best modern art pieces in its collections — to sell, and show to visitors and art lovers. That’s why brick-and-mortar shops and online contemporary art painting galleries suggest artistic modern art images and original wholesale contemporary painting. Contemporary art buy — it is not only about art admiration but also about investment. So, modern art images meaning is very wide.

The modern art market is characterized by the globalization of its activities, the change in the traditional functions of art institutions and the hypertrophied role of professional intermediaries, the lack of a clear pricing policy and the a priori impossibility of controlling the price level, as well as virtualization. Its symptomatic feature is the passionate consumption of contemporary art. The modern art price level for works in this category is comparable to the price level for the time-tested art of the old masters, the consumption of which, along with the collection, is of an investment nature. In turn, the “new” collectors, consuming the “freshest” art products, are guided by other goals. A lot of people wait for the hot sale to buy the best contemporary picture. The purchase of interior contemporary artists’ painting, on the one hand, can be understood as an ostentatious waste — the demonstrative destruction of wealth to confirm, maintain or improve one’s social status. On the other hand, the consumption of easy contemporary painting is not a single act of purchase. Such consumption becomes a way of life. Through the consumption and purchase of the best modern paintings style, the new elites increase their symbolic capital. The consumption of contemporary art forms, which is culturally and socially differentiating consumption, is a marker that makes it possible to single out the caste of “their own”.

You are welcome to visit Jose Art Gallery — modern paintings gallery for buying and selling works from the contemporary art painting category. You can choose interesting and extraordinary masters who are engaged in painting contemporary fine pictures. Using our platform you can investigate modern art paintings for sale prices, as well as find modern art image, especially for you.