Modern & Contemporary Art

Stories about modern and contemporary art, 1800 to today

Latest

  1. Instructions for the Unexpected

    Open book spread featuring unconventional letter forms in black, white, and orange

    How a new Getty digital publication brings the experimental scores of John Cage, Fluxus, and the neo-avant-garde back to life

    Mar 31, 2026

  2. Inspiration from the Cultural Frontlines

    Three people, two wearing gorilla masks, sit for a talk on stage in front of an image of a large pastry with a small crumb that reads “The crumb represents works by women: 1.5%”

    Getty Global Talks Presented with Christie’s brings together women leaders in arts and culture

    Mar 24, 2026

  3. Take a Walking Tour of Downtown Los Angeles’s Iconic Architecture

    A brown building with a tiled sun detailing at its highest point in the middle of high rise buildings

    How many of these landmarks have you seen?

    Mar 17, 2026

  4. Is Your Favorite Painting Colored with Crushed Bugs?

    A large portrait of a man in a vivid red robe with a red frame hangs in a gallery setting, while a woman in the lower left of the frame points up at the man.

    Discover red’s rich—and sometimes secretive and violent—history

    Mar 10, 2026

  5. Born Again

    A person installs a large pair of wings crafted from newspapers on an art gallery wall.

    All kinds of creative people—including mixed-media artist Susan Hannon—call LA home, and many make regular visits to the Getty Center or Getty Villa for inspiration

    Feb 25, 2026

  6. “Let Me Get to Work"

    Black and white photograph of a person wearing a stylish outfit walking past a painted wall with an intricate illustration and the words, "think positive".

    Photographer Coreen Simpson reflects on five decades of documenting Black culture

    Feb 24, 2026

  7. El arte postal se apodera del mundo

    A grid of postage stamps from Argentina with photographs of mouths open wide, showing their teeth.

    Cómo las latinas y los latinos lideraron una revolución por correo

    Jan 29, 2026

  8. Mail Art Takes On the World

    A grid of postage stamps from Argentina with photographs of mouths open wide, showing their teeth.

    How Latinx and Latin American women led a revolution by mail

    Jan 22, 2026

  9. An Artist, Histories, and Community: Coming Together Around Kerry James Marshall

    Photos of a symposium with speakers and a live audience.

    Marshall’s work reveals the resilience and complexity of the Black diaspora

    Jan 15, 2026

  10. Art World, Roxane Gay Is Ready to Discuss Your Grade

    A seated woman rests her left hand on her face and smiles at the camera in a white room with a window to her left.

    We asked acclaimed author and cultural critic Roxane Gay for her thoughts on the Guerrilla Girls—an anonymous art collective with a 40-year history—and how art activism can push museums, and the wider world, toward equity for all

    Dec 18, 2025