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, Kunst Aktionen On Wikipedia in 28 of 32 languages
From a childhood marked by relocation and early exposure to both natural sciences and the burgeoning darkness of Nazism—an event crystallized by rescuing Carl Linnaeus’s Systema Naturae from a book burning—Beuys developed a sensitivity to the fragility of existence and the power of symbolic action.
2of 18
Amerikansk From York Pop Art, Skulptur On Wikipedia in 26 of 32 languages
Jeff Koons, født i York i Pennsylvania i 1955, har ikke bare blitt en av de mest anerkjente og kommersielt suksessfulle kunstnerne på vår tid – han er også en skarp observatør av vår egen kultur.
3of 18
Amerikansk-ungarsk From Toledo Konseptkunst On Wikipedia in 22 of 32 languages
Kosuths tidlige liv var dypt forankret i kunstnerisk utforskning; han mottok formell opplæring ved Toledo Museum School of Design fra 1955-1962 og fortsatte studiene privat under Line Bloom Draper før han søkte stipendmuligheter ved Cleveland Institute of Art.
4of 18
Polsk-fransk From Hocquinghen Konseptkunst On Wikipedia in 16 of 32 languages
Roman Opałka, født i 1931 i Abbeville-Saint-Lucien i Frankrike av polske foreldre, la ut på en kunstnerisk reise som trosset konvensjonelle kategoriseringer. Familiens retur til Polen i 1946 etter andre verdenskrig satte dype spor i Opałka, formet hans tidlige erfaringer og ga næring til en livslang utforskning av identitet, minne og tidens nådeløse gang.
5of 18
Japansk From Tokyo Konseptkunst, Fluxus On Wikipedia in 31 of 32 languages
Yoko Ono, født i Tokyo i 1933, er en skikkelse hvis kunstneriske reise unndrar seg enkle kategoriseringer. Familiens flytting til New York City i 1952 viste seg å være et vendepunkt som omsluttet henne i den fremvoksende avantgarde-scenen, og la grunnlaget for en karriere som skulle utfordre konvensjonelle forestillinger om selve kunsten.
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 Konseptualisme og land art
Dennis Oppenheim, født i det treffende navngitte Electric City i Washington i 1938, vokste frem som en sentral skikkelse i omformingen av kunstneriske grenser i andre halvdel av det 20. århundre.
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 Konseptuell 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 Konseptkunst, offentlig forfatterskap
Født i Berlin i 1940, er Jochen Christian Gerz’ kunstneriske reise en dyp utforskning av forholdet mellom kunst og liv, historie og minne – en dialog som konstant føres innenfor det offentlige rom.
17of 18
Argentinsk From Buenos Aires Konseptkunst On Wikipedia in 6 of 32 languages
Født i Buenos Aires, Argentina den 3. september 1920, var Ferraris liv et vitnesbyrd om kraften i kunstnerisk uttrykk som en form for dissens. Dette kommer tydelig til uttrykk i hans verk western and christian civilization, som avbildet en nesten naturtro Kristus henrettet på et amerikansk jagerfly, noe som vakte stor kontrovers ved skapelsen i 1965.
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 |
| Frankrike | 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 KosuthAmerikansk-ungarsk · 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 Museum Ludwig (1), Lenbachhaus (1) og Nasjonalgalleriet i Armenia (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-kunstnereRembrandt van Rijn · Rembrandt
Berømte Contemporary Realist-kunstnereInnhøsterne · Jean-François Millet
Berømte Impressionist-kunstnereStjernenatt (New York, MoMA) · Vincent Van Gogh
Berømte Romanticist-kunstnereSaturn som fortærer sin sønn · Francisco Goya
Berømte Neoclassicist-kunstnereDøden til Marat · Jacques-Louis David
Berømte Realist-kunstnereOpprinnelsen til verden · Gustave Courbet
Berømte Renaissance-kunstnereMona Lisa (La Gioconda) · Leonardo Da Vinci
Berømte Dutch Golden Age-kunstnereJohannes Vermeer · Johannes Vermeer
Berømte Expressionist-kunstnereKomposisjon VII · Vasilij Kandinskij
Berømte Rococo-kunstnereAnkomst til Kythera · Antoine WatteauOther eras
Berømte Early Medieval-kunstnereSnowy River · Wang Wei
Berømte High Medieval-kunstnereMadonna i Majestet (Ognissanti Madonna) · Giotto
Berømte Late Medieval-kunstnereKunngjøringen og To Helgener · Simone Martini
Berømte Renaissance-kunstnereAdams skapelse · Michelangelo
Berømte Early Modern-kunstnereKallingen av Matteus · Caravaggio
Berømte 19th Century-kunstnereWater Lilies (eller Nympheas) · Claude Monet
Berømte Modern-kunstnereGuernica · Pablo Picasso
Berømte Contemporary-kunstnereWind Sculpture III (one in a series of nine) · Yinka ShonibareKeep exploring
