conceptual art

American  

noun

1. art in which emphasis is placed on the means and processes of producing art objects rather than on the objects themselves and in which the various tools and techniques, as photographs, photocopies, video records, and the construction of environments and earthworks, are used to convey the message to the spectator.

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conceptual art British  

noun

1. art in which the idea behind a particular work, and the means of producing it, are more important than the finished work

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Other Word Forms

• conceptual artist
  noun

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

conceptual art

Thumbing its nose at the blockchain while offering a technodystopic vision of the Freudian death drive, it’s conceptual art with a serious message that refuses to take itself too seriously.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026

Pondering her return to sculpture after several decades as an acclaimed performance and conceptual artist, Fraser notes that the L.A. artists in this year’s biennial are united by the intersection of conceptual art and craft.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2026

A car park is in the conceptual art of the park.

From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2025

Visitors to the two main venues, the Giardini and the Arsenale, will be greeted by a neon sign by the conceptual art cooperative Claire Fontaine with the exhibition’s title: “Stranieri Ovunque — Foreigners Everywhere.”

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 19, 2024

Staged inside the Green Gallery in Midtown Manhattan, the room was a poignant display of place and loss in the form of deadpan conceptual art.

From New York Times ● Mar. 7, 2024