Conceptual Art For Sale

Our curators have selected a wide array conceptual artworks for sale. Our online gallery showcases a diverse range of conceptual pieces in a variety of different mediums available to buy or rent: Painting, Drawing, Photography, Sculpture, Prints, Digital.

Not sure where to start? We recommend two of our most iconic conceptual art pieces on the contemporary art scene: Riddler by Philip Maltman and the Abstract Body series by Erik Brede.

Philip Maltman uses oil and crayon on canvas in Riddler to explore the ‘littoral zone’ – where land meets water – with beautiful gestural strokes and variety of colours which instill his work with life.

Erik Brede is a self-taught Norwegian photographer who has mastered the art of conceptual photography in his own right. His pieces, such as the unique, neon Abstract Body series, cleverly question the nature of human existence by blurring the lines between the real and the imagined.

Discover more conceptual artists here.

What is Conceptual Art?

A key theorist in conceptual art is Sol LeWitt. In retaliation to Clement Greenberg’s totalitarian commitment to formalist art – restricting art to a flat surface hung on a wall – LeWitt gave the characteristics of conceptual art in his seminal Paragraphs on Conceptual Art, published June 1967. He states: "when an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that all of the planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair." In other words, the thought and process behind the piece are the most valuable aspects of it, not the aesthetic or craft.

Types of Conceptual Art

Conceptual art can therefore take many forms, including performance art, video art, art installations, conceptual painting, conceptual art photography and written word. With the emphasis on art as something purely conceptual, artists tend to carry out a process of 'dematerialisation', minimising the material presence of their work as much as possible. For conceptual artists, there is no need for the final product to look like traditional 'art'. This has led to a titillatingly infinite range of artistic works.

Performance and Video Art in Conceptualism

At the height of the conceptual art movement, highly subversive filmmaking and performance art shook the very foundations of traditional artistic expression. Many conceptual and avant-garde artists took part in a collaborative called Fluxus during the 1960s. The Fluxus community engaged in experimental performance-based art which, once again, ranked the artistic process over the final product. Yoko Ono and John Lennon staged the Bed-In in 1969, blurring the boundaries between the private and the public, turning ordinary human activity into art.

Conceptual Art Installations

Marcel Duchamp’s ready-mades – objects which he found and then exhibited as ‘artwork’ – did not fail to ruffle the feathers of distinguished art critics and historians. The pieces, called ‘retinal art’ by Duchamp, were not particularly aesthetically pleasing, did not share anything personal about the artist nor had they been crafted by Duchamp. Through these installations, Duchamp demonstrated the total subjectivity of art; art is not defined by craft, material or skill, but rather by the discourse surrounding the piece.

As an example, Fountain, a porcelain urinal engraved with ‘R.Mutt’ is often said to be the first example of conceptual art. The urinal became art because it had been repositioned, titled and signed as art by Duchamp. The original Fountain has since been lost, however photographs of the urinal have been saved and are now seen as works of art in themselves.

Conceptual Art Photography

Conceptual art photography means photography that expresses or illustrates an idea. As conceptual photography is quite an abstract term, the range of photography labelled as conceptual is incredibly diverse. This opens the stage to anyone with a camera to represent with an image something beyond what was in front of the camera lens. Dennis Oppenheim, though openly unwilling to be assigned to any particular art movement, was an influential figure in conceptual photography. His photographic pieces, such as Salt Flat (1968), epistemologically questioned the very nature of art.

Conceptual Written Word

Words began to play a central role in articulating the message behind a work. Art and text had long been intertwined before conceptualism came to the forefront, for example, in Magritte’s famous surrealist painting ‘Ceci n’est pas une pipe’. However, during the 1960s there was a clear reemergence of textual artforms. For example, Robert Barry’s All the Things I Know But of Which I Am Not at the Moment Thinking (1969) uses this very titular statement on a plain white background, just about visibly printed, to express that art resides in the idea, and not in the form.

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    Mémoire Gravée by MagLM
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    Mémoire Gravée by MagLM
    Mémoire Gravée
    Drawings - 30x40 cm
    LAGBAJA I by Yannis Guibinga
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    LAGBAJA I by Yannis Guibinga
    LAGBAJA I
    Photography - 51x76 cm
    OMA AYIYA II by Yannis Guibinga
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    OMA AYIYA II by Yannis Guibinga
    OMA AYIYA II
    Photography - 51x76 cm
    L'absence XIV by Boris Davy
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    L'absence XIV by Boris Davy
    L'absence XIV
    Paintings - 100x100 cm
    Flores Translucentes_1 by Carole Charbonnier
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    Flores Translucentes_1 by Carole Charbonnier
    Flores Translucentes_1
    Photography - 50x40 cm
    Analogie by Khaled Alkhani
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    Analogie by Khaled Alkhani
    Analogie
    Paintings - 55x46 cm
    Good memories by Sasha Makarska
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    Good memories by Sasha Makarska
    Good memories
    Paintings - 79x90 cm
    Libération by Romain Bonnet
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    Libération by Romain Bonnet
    Libération
    Prints - 81x61 cm
    là ici #3 by Pascal Brateau
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    là ici #3 by Pascal Brateau
    là ici #3
    Drawings - 21x30 cm
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    Possibilité de vie by Khaled Alkhani
    Possibilité de vie
    Paintings - 65x54 cm
    Orbital #5
    Sculpture - 40x30 cmRent for €100 /mo
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    Mascara by Gilles Grimon
    Mascara
    Paintings - 120x120 cm
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    Les espérances by Boris Davy
    Les espérances
    Paintings - 100x80 cm
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    Icarus last dream by Frank Schroeder
    Icarus last dream
    Paintings - 90x65 cm
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    À ce moment là by Sylvia Baldeva
    À ce moment là
    Paintings - 35x25 cm
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    MUE #4 by Pascal Brateau
    MUE #4
    Drawings - 55x78 cm
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    Au bord du gouffre by Boris Davy
    Au bord du gouffre
    Paintings - 80x100 cm
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    Serenity by Ho My An
    Serenity
    Paintings - 41x33 cm
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    TALES OF THE FIRST SUNRISE VI by Yannis Guibinga
    TALES OF THE FIRST SUNRISE VI
    Photography - 76x51 cm
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    Lena et le chat by Smoka
    Lena et le chat
    Paintings - 76x51 cm
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    Une chanson douce - 05 by Emilie Moysson
    Une chanson douce - 05
    Photography - 60x90 cm
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    Une plante verte by Adeline GAFFEZ
    Une plante verte
    Paintings - 80x60 cm
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    Rêve IV by Yoann Bonneville YBA
    Rêve IV
    Paintings - 130x89 cm
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    Belchard chantecler -05 by Emilie Moysson
    Belchard chantecler -05
    Photography - 120x80 cm
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    Fictional Still Life No. 3 by N. A. Vague
    Fictional Still Life No. 3
    Digital - 33x33 cm
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    Steppe. by Sasha Makarska
    Steppe.
    Paintings - 86x105 cm
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    Danse solo by Khaled Alkhani
    Danse solo
    Paintings - 65x55 cm
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    Heralds of Spring - No.3 by Xidong Luo
    Heralds of Spring - No.3
    Photography - 70x50 cm
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    I am free to imprison myself - II by Idan Wizen
    I am free to imprison myself - II
    Photography - 40x60 cm
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