Modern art of the XXI century

As the world progresses, art is improving. With many innovations, mixes of nations, culture and realities are reflected in all. Art trends come and go over the years, just as our tastes in food, interiors, and fashion change over time. Art is constantly innovating itself, and the desire for novelty and uniqueness is at the heart of artistic expression. What does modern art look like in our technology overcrowded in the world?

Here are eight art trends to watch out for in this days.

Virtual Art Events

What would it look like, 21st century modern art without modern and technological solutions? It is probably hard to imagine the latest technologies full of them in our daily lives.

The virtual art trend has received an exponential boost due to the COVID-19 pandemic. By necessity, virtual art events have adapted, allowing artists to reach a more global audience even at a time when most people could no longer travel. Museums, galleries and even art festivals like Burning Man have turned to online platforms to create virtual art events. These artistic events are available digitally so viewers can enjoy them anywhere in the world from the comfort of their homes.

Virtual Art Events are not only the works of artists that have been transferred to the vastness of the Internet, it is an entire exhibition hall in your home. With the push of the Covid pandemic, a whole exhibition hall appeared in the online space. You can visit the virtual exhibition just sitting at your computer. You can admire the works of artists and move freely from artwork to artwork, admire, appreciate and forget where you really are.

Graphic design 3D Motion

Also here we will not avoid the touch of smart technology in today’s modern art. 3D art and motion graphics are also on the rise as technology allows us to enjoy art from the comfort of our homes. But digital art isn’t limited to your computer or phone screen. Artists such as Vadim Solovyov are using 3D graphics to create outdoor digital exhibitions and a new interpretation of “street art”.

To do this video artist combine live footage and 3D animation, also if the idea is complex, then creator make the video entirely in 3D editors. The conditional pipeline is as follows: creating models, building a composition, working out materials, animation, finalizing details – the interaction of models with the environment, simulating live shooting, adding voice.

NFT art

Crypto art continues to gain popularity in the digital world. Crypto artists have experienced many revolutionary moments in 2021: record sales and increased awareness of NFTs. In 2022, the popularity of crypto art will reach even greater heights, as it will be used by leading artists.

Digital art NFT with the help of blockchain and cryptocurrency intends to revolutionize the art market. The payment was made in cryptocurrency, namely with the help of Ethereum, the second most important currency after bitcoin. To trade in digital art, even if it’s just pictures of cats, you need a certificate of authenticity that would confirm the originality of the image. Such a certificate is the famous NFT, Non-Fungible Token – a non-fungible token. Technically, it’s just an authentication link. Now, not a single serious discussion about contemporary art can do without this abbreviation.

For artists and galleries successfully operating in the traditional art market, NFT is just an extension of the range. High prices for NFT art have become a reality for those authors who were not known before this fashion. The perennial benefit of any move online is that it cuts production costs so dramatically that even minor players with little start-up capital can enter the market.

Street art

Once upon a time, street art was treated as vandalism or an offense. Over time, this direction has become a full-fledged art. Artists began to move away from their usual workplace: they left canvases, brushes and moved to the city walls, thereby turning the gray city into the capital of style and courage. Fans of street art or simply interested tourists should definitely visit the capitals of world street art as Berlin, Miami, London or Warsaw.

Street art has been popular during the last decade, with many street artists such as Eduardo Cobra, Banksy and Alec Monopoly becoming famous figures. COVID-19 and the political turmoil of the past few years have only increased the popularity and importance of street art as a voice of the people. Even during the pandemic, street artists captured the mood of the moment by paying tribute to healthcare workers. Other works contained an appeal or sympathy, such as “Dealer of Hope” – a yellow mural with a warning: “Cancel plans. Not Mankind” by Los Angeles-based artist Corey Mattey. Recently, street art galleries have become one of the most accessible forms of art.

Contemporary African Art

Art trends have often focused on certain regions. For centuries, Europe has been the center of innovation, followed by America and Asia. Now it’s time for African art. Digital technologies allow contemporary African artists to reach new audiences and showcase the talent and innovation that African art has to offer.

The definition of traditional African Art – traditional and primitive art of the peoples of Africa. Rock art, petroglyphs, ritual statues and masks, objects of applied and court art – mostly pre-literate forms of art, corresponding to the tribal relations that preserved here. The tribes and peoples of Tropical (Black) Africa inhabit the savanna zone between the southern border of the Sahara and the equatorial forests, the Atlantic coast from Guinea to Cameroon, the equatorial forests of the Congo Basin, the South African savannah, and also the southeastern part of the continent from the Great Lakes to the Drakensberg Mountains.

Nowadays, this type of art also expressed in more modern solutions in works. However, it is the art of representatives of a certain region of the world connected to their culture, life and people. In works of art, this branch of art is characterized by certain colors that are characteristic of Africa, their combinations, shapes or symbols, as well as the people depicted. This branch of art is represented not only by works of art, but also by photographs, sculptures, artistic solutions merging various techniques.

Neon artwork

When people talk to you about neon, you probably think of the Las Vegas Strip or Times Square rather than your bedroom or living room. But artists like Glenn Lygon, Tracey Emin and Jung Lee have been setting the trend for vibrant neon artwork over the past few years. Now this trend is moving from the gallery to the walls of our homes as neon artwork becomes the main trend.

Neon signs shouting each other today have become an integral part of our lives. Their main goal is to attract attention and make you spend your money and time in an establishment: open 24 hours, ATM inside, cosmetics, cocktails, a club or just a flashy image. This is an effective marketing ploy, because glowing neon signs at night either fascinate or annoy – it all depends on your perception. Today, contemporary artists are reimagining neon beyond commercial gain. Through their work, they call for social activism, joke, draw attention to the invisible in everyday life and remind of images lost by society. 

Revival of the Memphis aesthetic

Along with the neon trend, there is another bold and vibrant current – the revival of Memphis art. This colorful geometric art style first appeared in the 1980s but is making a comeback in art, interiors and fashion.

In this style you will find liveliness, expressiveness, colors and geometric shapes. This direction of art, or rather, lifestyle, is like an explosion of neon lights framed in various squares, triangles, circles or other geometric shapes. For some it seems tasteless, but for others it is the light of life. This branch emerged as a resistance movement to austerity, sophistication and minimalism, everything that is opposed to these three concepts.

Conceptualism

Conceptual art is a postmodern movement based on the principle that art is a “concept” and not a material object. In other words, the “idea” that a work represents is considered its main component, and the “finished product”, if it exists at all, is considered mainly as a form of documentation rather than an artifact.