1960s to NOW

Art History Wheel

Eras / Styles

Explore the art that broke free from Abstract Expressionism with our Art History Wheel.
Journey from the Pop Art reaction of the 1960s to today's diverse styles. Discover 19 key movements and 95 influential artists, each with a notable artwork example, tracing this exciting evolution.

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Art History Wheel
Welcome to your comprehensive guide through contemporary art history from the 1960s to now.

Pop Art

Pop Art is an art movement that emerged in the 1950s and 60s, drawing inspiration from popular culture, mass media, and everyday objects.

Minimalism

Minimalism is a style that reduces art to its most essential forms, often using geometric shapes and industrial materials.

Conceptual Art

Conceptual Art prioritizes the idea or concept behind the artwork over traditional aesthetic and material concerns.

Performance Art

Performance Art is a genre in which art is presented "live," typically by the artist but sometimes with collaborators or performers.

Land Art / Earthworks

Land Art or Earthworks are large-scale art projects that use the natural landscape as their medium.

Photorealism

Photorealism is a painting style that aims to create images that are as realistic and detailed as photographs.

Postminimalism

Postminimalism is an artistic trend that emerged in the late 1960s, reacting to and extending the ideas of Minimalism.

Neo-Expressionism

Neo-Expressionism is a style of late-modernist or early-postmodern painting and sculpture that emerged in the late 1970s, characterized by intense subjectivity and rough handling of materials.

Appropriation Art (Readymade?)

Appropriation Art involves the intentional borrowing, copying, and alteration of pre-existing images and objects.

Street Art / Graffiti Art

Street Art or Graffiti Art is visual art created in public locations, often unsanctioned, and executed outside of the traditional art venue context.

Installation Art

Installation Art is a genre that creates immersive, three-dimensional environments that transform the viewer's perception of a space.

Digital Art / New Media Art

Digital Art or New Media Art encompasses artistic works and practices that use digital technology as an essential part of the creative or presentation process.

Young British Artists (YBAs)

The Young British Artists (YBAs) were a loose group of artists who began to exhibit together in London in the late 1980s, known for their entrepreneurial spirit and use of shock tactics.

Relational Aesthetics

Relational Aesthetics is a mode of art-making where social interactions and human relations form the primary artistic medium.

Bio Art

Bio Art is an art practice that uses living organisms, tissues, and biological processes as its medium.

Post-Internet Art

Post-Internet Art is art that reflects the cultural and social conditions shaped by the internet and digital technologies.

Contemporary Indigenous Art

Contemporary Indigenous Art encompasses a diverse range of artistic practices by Indigenous artists, engaging with both traditional and contemporary materials and themes.

Social Practice Art

Social Practice Art is an art medium that focuses on engagement through human interaction and social discourse.

AI and Algorithmic Art

AI and Algorithmic art is a field of artistic production that utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, machine learning, and generative processes to create artworks.