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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    Mask No. 24 by Gregory Malphurs
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    Mask No. 24 by Gregory Malphurs
    Mask No. 24
    Paintings - 61x46 cm
    Abstract Head No. 15 by Gregory Malphurs
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    Abstract Head No. 15 by Gregory Malphurs
    Abstract Head No. 15
    Drawings - 41x31 cm
    Mask No. 22 by Gregory Malphurs
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    Mask No. 22 by Gregory Malphurs
    Mask No. 22
    Paintings - 61x46 cm
    Ghosts No. 6 by Gregory Malphurs
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    Ghosts No. 6 by Gregory Malphurs
    Ghosts No. 6
    Paintings - 41x31 cm
    Mask No. 18 by Gregory Malphurs
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    Mask No. 18 by Gregory Malphurs
    Mask No. 18
    Paintings - 76x61 cm
    Dance of Transformation - I by Xidong Luo
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    Dance of Transformation - I by Xidong Luo
    Dance of Transformation - I
    Photography - 70x50 cm
    Ruban bleu by Gilles Grimon
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    Ruban bleu by Gilles Grimon
    Ruban bleu
    Paintings - 120x120 cm
    Gardian by Fabien Delaube
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    Gardian by Fabien Delaube
    Gardian
    Paintings - 80x60 cm
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    Abstract Head No. 5 by Gregory Malphurs
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    Paintings - 102x76 cm
    Block Chain Bank Pen
    Sculpture - 14x16 cmRent for $55 /mo
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    Excess by Jenny Boot
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    Photography - 120x90 cm
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    Nuits blanches by Khaled Alkhani
    Nuits blanches
    Paintings - 100x90 cm
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    The Wind is Rising by Xidong Luo
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    Photography - 84x60 cm
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    A Rose Through The Crack #3 by Xidong Luo
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    Photography - 50x75 cm
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    Meta 5 by Smoka
    Meta 5
    Paintings - 85x65 cm
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    Mask No. 21 by Gregory Malphurs
    Mask No. 21
    Paintings - 76x61 cm
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    Ghosts No. 7 by Gregory Malphurs
    Ghosts No. 7
    Paintings - 41x31 cm
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    bargepole by Pen Dalton
    bargepole
    Paintings - 30x30 cmRent for $70 /mo
    LAKUMA-096
    Sculpture - 18x13 cm
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    Ancient Modernism by Javiera Estrada
    Ancient Modernism
    Photography - 101x101 cm
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    Belchard chantecler -05 by Emilie Moysson
    Belchard chantecler -05
    Photography - 120x80 cm
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    hoisted by Pen Dalton
    hoisted
    Paintings - 30x30 cmRent for $75 /mo
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    The Entombment of Andy by Gregory Malphurs
    The Entombment of Andy
    Paintings - 76x76 cm
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    The Darkness of Passion by Xidong Luo
    The Darkness of Passion
    Photography - 70x50 cm
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    Abstract Head No. 17 by Gregory Malphurs
    Abstract Head No. 17
    Paintings - 51x41 cm
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