The Conceptual Art names to know
If you remember one Conceptual Art kunstner, make it Joseph Beuys (1921–1986), the name behind Bathtub og Halved Felt Cross with Dust Image "Magda". After that come Jeff Koons, Joseph Kosuth, Roman Opałka og Yoko Ono. Our 18 picks go from León Ferrari (born 1920) to Michael Landy (born 1963), from 12 countries.
How we picked them. We list the artists our catalogue links to Conceptual Art, from the most famous down. Artists born after 1955 that we cannot yet check on Wikidata are left out. The Wikipedia number shows in how many of our 32 languages Wikipedia writes about them.
Quick facts
Meet them one by one
1of 18
Tysk From Krefeld Fluxus, Social Sculpture On Wikipedia in 28 of 32 languages
Han blev født i Krefeld, Tyskland, i 1921, og hans liv foldede sig ud mod baggrunden af enorm politisk og social uro, hvilket dybtgående påvirkede hans kunstneriske filosofi.
2of 18
Amerikansk From York Pop Art, Skulptur On Wikipedia in 26 of 32 languages
Jeff Koons, født i York, Pennsylvania, i 1955, er en kunstner, der har defineret det sene 20. og tidlige 21. århundredes kunstverden. Koons' tidlige uddannelse på School of the Art Institute of Chicago og derefter Maryland Institute College of Art lagde grundlaget for hans kunstneriske udforskninger, men det var hans mentorforhold til Ed Paschke, der virkelig antændte hans passion for Pop Art-teknikker og -filosofier.
3of 18
Amerikaner-Ungar From Toledo Konceptuel kunst On Wikipedia in 22 of 32 languages
Joseph Kosuth, født i Toledo, Ohio i 1945, er en central figur i kunstverdenen, der markerede et skifte i kunstens definition i midten af 1960’erne. Hans tidlige liv var præget af en stærk interesse for kunst og design – han studerede på Toledo Museum School of Design fra 1955-1962 og fortsatte sin uddannelse privat med Line Bloom Draper, før han søgte stipendier til Cleveland Institute of Art.
4of 18
Polsk-fransk From Hocquinghen Konceptkunst On Wikipedia in 16 of 32 languages
Roman Opałka, født i 1931 i Abbeville-Saint-Lucien, Frankrig, af polske forældre, påbegyndte en kunstnerisk rejse, der trodsede konventionel kategorisering. Familiens tilbagevenden til Polen i 1946 efter Anden Verdenskrig satte dybe spor i Opałka, formede hans tidlige oplevelser og nærede en livslang udforskning af identitet, hukommelse og tidens ubønhørlige gang.
5of 18
Japansk From Tokyo Konceptkunst, Fluxus On Wikipedia in 31 of 32 languages
Yoko Ono, født i Tokyo i 1933, er en skikkelse, hvis kunstneriske rejse trodser enhver simpel kategorisering. Familiens flytning til New York City i 1952 blev et vendepunkt, der opslugte hende i den spirende avantgarde-scene og lagde grunden til en karriere, der ville udfordre selve de konventionelle forestillinger om kunst. Ono følte sig hurtigt draget mod de radikale eksperimenter i 1960'ernes New York-kunstscene og blev et nøglemedlem af Fluxus-bevægelsen.
6of 18
German-Italian From Celle Concrete Poetry, Text-based art
Irma Blank, who passed away in Milan on April 14, 2023, at the age of 88, was an artist whose singular vision relentlessly pursued the boundaries of language, communication, and the profound resonance of silence. Born in Celle, Germany, in 1934, her journey took a pivotal turn in 1955 when, inspired by Goethe’s Italian Journey, she traveled to Syracuse, Sicily.
7of 18
American From Boston Contemporary sculpture
Douglas Abdell, born in Boston in 1947, is a sculptor whose work resonates with the weight of history, the echoes of ancient languages, and the complex political currents of the Mediterranean world. His journey as an artist began with formal training at Syracuse University, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in sculpture in 1970.
8of 18
Canadian From Tofino Street art, Conceptual art
He received an Advanced Diploma from the Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver, honing his skills in painting and printmaking before relocating to New York City in the late 1970s.
9of 18
Belgian From Saint-Gilles Conceptual Art On Wikipedia in 10 of 32 languages
Marcel Broodthaers, born in Brussels on January 28, 1924, and tragically passing away on the same date in 1976 in Cologne, was not initially an artist in the conventional sense. The pivotal moment arrived with Pense-Bête (Memory Aid), 1964—a sculpture consisting of fifty unsold copies of his poetry collection embedded in plaster.
10of 18
Japanese From Mikasa Installation art
Tadashi Kawamata, born in 1953 in the quiet mining town of Mikasa, Japan, is an artist whose work doesn’t simply occupy space—it interrogates it. His journey began with a formal education in painting at Tokyo University of the Arts, but quickly diverged as he found himself drawn to the possibilities inherent in installation art.
11of 18
Amerikansk From Electric City Konceptuel & Land Art
Dennis Oppenheim, født i det passende navngivne Electric City, Washington i 1938, trådte frem som en skelsættende figur i omformningen af kunstneriske grænser i den sidste halvdel af det 20. århundrede.
12of 18
American From Panama Canal Zone Conceptual & Pop Art On Wikipedia in 10 of 32 languages
Richard Prince, born in the U.S.-controlled Panama Canal Zone in 1949, isn’t simply an artist; he's a cultural archaeologist, meticulously excavating the detritus of American popular culture and reassembling it into unsettlingly familiar narratives.
13of 18
Peruviansk From Iquitos Konceptuel kunst, Mediekunst
Burga's early life in Iquitos likely influenced her later exploration of identity and social structures within Peruvian society. It was during this time that she produced some of her most significant works, establishing her reputation as a visionary innovator.
14of 18
Canadian Recto/Verso Art
In the vast landscape of twentieth-century contemporary art, few figures navigated the boundary between reality and artifice as masterfully as Robert Heinecken. Born in Denver, Colorado, in 1931, Heinecken’s journey was one of profound movement and transformation, stretching from his early years in Iowa to his formative education at UCLA.
15of 18
Italian Contemporary sculpture, installation art
Alfio Giuffrida, born in Italy in 1953, is an artist whose work defies easy categorization. Giuffrida's journey began with a return to non-figurative representation in 1975, marked by his participation in the X Rome Quadriennale. His collaborations with opera houses and theaters—including Oper der Stadt Köln, Schlosserei Schauspiel Köln, Internationales Tanzfestival Wien, Tiroler Landestheater Innsbruck, and Deutsche Oper am Rhein—allowed him to translate his spatial concepts into immersive environments.
16of 18
Tysk From Berlin Konceptkunst, offentligt forfatterskab
Født i Berlin i 1940, er Jochen Christian Gerz' kunstneriske rejse en dybdegående udforskning af forholdet mellem kunst og liv, historie og erindring – en dialog, der konstant udspiller sig i det offentlige rum. Oprindeligt tiltrukket af litteratur og sprog, hvilket kulminerede i studier i Köln og Basel, ændrede Gerz' bane sig dramatisk i slutningen af 1960'erne, drevet af hans oplevelser under de turbulente begivenheder omkring maj '68 i Paris.
17of 18
Argentinsk From Buenos Aires Konceptuel kunst On Wikipedia in 6 of 32 languages
18of 18
From London On Wikipedia in 3 of 32 languages
Born in London, United Kingdom in 1963, Michael John Landy emerged as a significant figure within the British art scene. He received his education at Goldsmiths, University of London, a pivotal institution for the development of Young British Artists (YBAs).
Pictures worth knowing
When it happened
Fun figures
| USA | 3 |
|---|---|
| Tyskland | 2 |
| Japan | 2 |
| Frankrig | 1 |
| Germany | 1 |
| United States of America | 1 |
| Canada | 1 |
| Belgium | 1 |
| 1920s | 3 |
|---|---|
| 1930s | 6 |
| 1940s | 4 |
| 1950s | 3 |
| 1960s | 1 |
Just the names
Joseph BeuysTysk · 1921–1986Jeff KoonsAmerikansk · født 1955Joseph KosuthAmerikaner-Ungar · født 1945Roman OpałkaPolsk-fransk · 1931–2011Yoko OnoJapansk · født 1933Irma BlankGerman-Italian · 1934–2023Douglas AbdellAmerican · født 1947Richard Art HambletonCanadian · 1952–2017Marcel BroodthaersBelgian · 1924–1976Tadashi KawamataJapanese · født 1953Dennis OppenheimAmerikansk · 1938–2011Richard PrinceAmerican · født 1949María Teresa Burga RuizPeruviansk · 1935–2021Robert HeineckenCanadian · 1931–2006Alfio GiuffridaItalian · Jochen Christian GerzTysk · født 1940León FerrariArgentinsk · 1920–2013Michael Landyfødt 1963Good questions
Joseph Beuys (#1) is first in this ranking, followed by Jeff Koons (#2) and Joseph Kosuth (#3).
Joseph Beuys (#1), Jeff Koons (#2), Joseph Kosuth (#3), Roman Opałka (#4) og Yoko Ono (#5).
The highest-ranked living kunstnere in this list are Jeff Koons (#2), Joseph Kosuth (#3), Yoko Ono (#5), Douglas Abdell (#7), Tadashi Kawamata (#10) og Richard Prince (#12).
3 women are in this ranking: Yoko Ono (#5), Irma Blank (#6) og María Teresa Burga Ruiz (#13).
The museums holding the most key works of this list are National Gallery of Armenia (1), Lenbachhaus (1) og Museum Ludwig (1).
The earliest-born kunstner in this list is León Ferrari (#17), born in 1920.
USA: 3 of the 18 kunstnere in this list were born there, then Tyskland (2) og Japan (2).
Most kunstnere in this list were born in the 1930s (6 of 18), between 1920 and 1963 overall.
Our catalogue holds 525 works by these kunstnere.
Read more
Other styles
Berømte Baroque-kunstnereNattevagten · Rembrandt Van Rijn
Berømte Contemporary Realist-kunstnereGlanskerne · Jean-François Millet
Berømte Impressionist-kunstnereStjernevisningen (New York, MoMA) · Vincent Van Gogh
Berømte Romanticist-kunstnereSaturn fortærende sin søn · Francisco Goya
Berømte Neoclassicist-kunstnereMarats død · Jacques-Louis David
Berømte Realist-kunstnereVerdens fødsel · Gustave Courbet
Berømte Renaissance-kunstnereMona Lisa (La Gioconda) · Leonardo Da Vinci
Berømte Dutch Golden Age-kunstnereJohannes Vermeer · Johannes Vermeer
Berømte Expressionist-kunstnereKomposition VII · Vasilij Kandinskij
Berømte Rococo-kunstnereAnkomst til Cythéra · Antoine WatteauOther eras
Berømte Early Medieval-kunstnereSnowy River · Wang Wei
Berømte High Medieval-kunstnereMadonna in Maest (Ognissanti Madonna) · Giotto Di Bondone
Berømte Late Medieval-kunstnereForkyndelsen og To Hellige · Simone Martini
Berømte Renaissance-kunstnereAdams skabelse · Michelangelo
Berømte Early Modern-kunstnereKaldet til at være Matthæus · Michelangelo di Caravaggio
Berømte 19th Century-kunstnereÅkander (eller Nympheas) · Claude Monet
Berømte Modern-kunstnereGuernica · Pablo Picasso
Berømte Contemporary-kunstnereWind Sculpture III (one in a series of nine) · Yinka ShonibareKeep exploring
