Art Glossary

Definitions of Art Forms, Mediums, and Movements

Country, Art Movement, Medium, Varia
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Uruguay

Contemporary Art in Uruguay is a dynamic and evolving field, reflecting the country's rich cultural heritage and innovative spirit. Uruguayan artists, through various mediums such as painting, (...) read more

Artwork Copyright © Marco Maggi
Venezuela

Venezuela's contemporary art is a vibrant testament to the country's resilience and creativity amidst a backdrop of social and political turbulence. Artists like Carlos Cruz-Diez and Jesús Rafael (...) read more

Artwork Copyright © Carlos Cruz-Diez
Video art

Video art is an art form that uses video and audio data, primarily featuring moving images. It emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s with the advent of new technology and consumer video equipment (...) read more

Image © Vegorus/Shutterstock
Watercolor

Watercolor refers to both the medium and the resulting artwork created using pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle. Watercolors are known for their luminous, transparent appearance because (...) read more

Image © Phil Darby/Shutterstock
Watermark

A watermark is an image or pattern embedded into a sheet of paper during the papermaking process. Each papermaker includes a faint trademark, which becomes visible when the paper is held up to a (...) read more

Wax

Wax is a solid material derived from plant, animal, and petroleum sources. It is used to protect paints from wear, create sculptures, make wax crayons and colored pencils, and for encaustic painting. (...) read more

Image © Sawarut Triratanachat/Shutterstock
Wire

Wire is a single strand or rod of flexible metal. It has been used since ancient times to make chains and jewelry decorations. Wire comes in various thicknesses and can be bent, braided, and cut (...) read more

Image © PRILL/Shutterstock
Wood

Wood is one of the most ancient and versatile materials used in creating art. It has served as a base for paintings, brush handles, pens, and pencils, as well as for easels, wood engraving, woodcut, (...) read more

Image © Redsapphire/Shutterstock
Woodblock printing

Woodblock printing is a technique that uses a carved wooden surface to create an image on materials such as paper or cloth. Ink or paint is applied thinly to the carved surface, which is then pressed (...) read more

Image © Anna Kepa/Shutterstock
Woodcut

Woodcut is a printing technique where an image is carved into the surface of a woodblock using gouges, with the remaining flat surface holding the ink for printing. The areas cut away by the artist (...) read more

Image © Anna Kepa/Shutterstock
Xiamen Dada

Xiamen Dada was a Chinese artist group based in Xiamen, a city on China’s southeast coast. Emerging in the 1980s, the group explored the relationship between Chan Buddhism and European Dada, (...) read more

© Composition.gallery
Young British Artists (YBAs)

Young British Artists (YBAs), also known as Britart or Brit artists, refers to a group of artists who began exhibiting together in London in 1988. Most of them graduated from the BA Fine Arts course (...) read more

Artwork by Damien Hirst
Zero Movement

ZERO was an art movement founded by Otto Piene and Heinz Mack, aiming to develop into a large international and cross-border movement. The name ZERO originated from a magazine founded by Heinz Mack (...) read more

Artwork by Otto Piene
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Est. 2005 — twenty years of collecting, online.