Learn
Common terms for mediums, styles, and movements. Each entry links to artworks on Herehood so you can see the technique in practice.
29 terms
Art that uses form, colour, and mark-making rather than direct representation of the visible world.
A fast-drying, water-based paint that can mimic watercolour washes or thick impasto application.
A programme providing time, space, and support for an artist to develop their practice — often culminating in an exhibition.
Detailed depictions of plants, rooted in scientific illustration and often rendered in watercolour.
Art objects formed from clay and hardened by firing, spanning functional vessels to sculptural forms.
Art assembled from cut, torn, or found elements layered and adhered to a flat surface.
An arrangement where an artist places work with a gallery for sale, receiving a percentage if it sells and retaining ownership otherwise.
Art produced in the present era, broadly inclusive of any medium or style made today.
Art created or presented using digital technology, from digital painting to generative and AI-assisted work.
A temporary loan of an artwork to a gallery or venue for display, with ownership remaining with the lender.
An approach that uses distortion, bold colour, and gestural mark-making to express inner emotional states.
Art that represents recognisable objects, people, or scenes from the real world.
Art built from geometric shapes — circles, triangles, and grids — often in hard-edged, precise compositions.
A style capturing transient light and atmosphere through loose brushwork and pure, unmixed colour.
Art that transforms an entire space into an immersive environment for the viewer to enter.
Art depicting natural environments — from mountains and coasts to the bush and desert.
Art that reduces form to its most essential elements — geometric shapes, limited colour, and precise execution.
Art that deliberately combines two or more materials or mediums within a single work.
A technique using pigments suspended in drying oils, prized for rich colour and long working time.
A public invitation from a venue or business for artists to submit work for consideration — open to all who meet the criteria.
The practice of capturing images with aesthetic intention, presented as limited-edition prints.
A fee paid by a venue to display an artwork for a set period, with the work remaining the artist's property.
Art representing a specific person, capturing likeness, character, or psychological presence.
The transfer of an image from a prepared matrix (woodblock, screen, plate) onto paper or fabric.
Three-dimensional art created by carving, casting, or assembling materials like stone, metal, or clay.
Art depicting inanimate objects, from classical floral arrangements to conceptual object studies.
Visual art placed in public spaces — from stencils and wheat-paste to commissioned murals.
Art made from fibre, fabric, and thread — spanning woven tapestry to sculptural textile installation.
A transparent, water-diluted medium known for luminosity and flowing washes of colour.