When you hear the word “Impressionism,” you immediately think of the landscapes of Oscar-Claude Monet or the portraits of Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The High Renaissance, the Rococo period, the Wanderers, each movement or school offered recognizable images, subjects and techniques. Now that rule doesn’t work anymore. The mere fact that the artist is contemporary, as well as where he lives, will tell you nothing about the style, forms or subject matter of the works. There are several things that are characteristic of contemporary art in general:
- A huge variety of techniques and materials, from those known from the old days to digital. The emergence of many new trends.
- The emergence of new themes in the art: migration, ecology, gender identity, artificial intelligence and many others.
- The interconnection of national cultures, which influence each other through the Internet, international exhibitions and the movement of artists.
- The coexistence of traditional genres with the newest ones and their blending when it helps to realize the artistic intention.
- Expanding the concept of “art” to include what used to be crafts or other fields. For example, comics and fashion design.
- The emergence of “collaborative art,” in which art objects are aimed at direct interaction with the viewer.