Mario Romero Fernandez

Mario Romero Fernández was born in 1977 in Huéscar, north of the province of Granada, where plateaus rise more than 1,000 meters above sea level. Long before he began his journey through the world of art, the deserted landscapes, almost extraterrestrial, that he saw throughout his life, have shaped in his subconscious an imaginary world of science fiction that has influenced all his artistic work. In Macael (Almeria), also with a particular landscape and climate, there are places that look like the Moon or Mars. Fernández lived and worked in this city for a few years, where the native artisans transmitted to him the technique of sculpture in stone and marble, ancient abilities that they knew from the time of the Romans. The admiration he felt for painting was a magnet that led him to study the world of the arts, and to try to learn procedures that would allow him to express what was in his head. In 2003, encouraged by his family and friends, he began university studies of fine arts in Altea. For five years, he learned how to channel all his knowledge and influences into the art project “Exploradores”.

Used to refer to a time rather than an aesthetic, Contemporary art generally describes pieces created after 1970 or being made by living artists anywhere in the world. This immediacy means it encompasses art responding to the present moment through diverse subjects, media and themes. Contemporary painting, sculpture, photography, performance, digital art, video and more frequently includes work that is attempting to reshape current ideas about what art can be, from Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s use of candy to memorialize a lover he lost to AIDS-related complications to Jenny Holzer’s ongoing “Truisms,” a Conceptual series that sees provocative messages printed on billboards, T-shirts, benches and other public places that exist outside of formal exhibitions and the conventional “white cube” of galleries.

Contemporary art has been pushing the boundaries of creative expression for years. Its disruption of the traditional concepts of art are often aiming to engage viewers in complex questions about identity, society and culture. In the latter part of the 20th century, contemporary movements included Land art, in which artists like Robert Smithson and Michael Heizer create large-scale, site-specific sculptures, installations and other works in soil and bodies of water; Sound art, with artists such as Christian Marclay and Susan Philipsz centering art on sonic experiences; and New Media art, in which mass media and digital culture inform the work of artists such as Nam June Paik and Rafaël Rozendaal.

The first decades of the 21st century have seen the growth of Contemporary African art, the revival of figurative painting, the emergence of street art and the rise of NFTs, unique digital artworks that are powered by blockchain technology.

Major Contemporary artists practicing now include Ai Weiwei, Cecily Brown, David Hockney, Yayoi Kusama, Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami and Kara Walker.

Find a collection of Contemporary prints, photography, paintings, sculptures and other art on 1stDibs.