Avant-garde () is French for "vanguard". The term is commonly used in French, English, and German to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art and culture.
Avant-garde represents a pushing of the boundaries of what is accepted as the norm or the status quo, primarily in the cultural realm. The notion of the existence of the avant-garde is considered by some to be a hallmark of modernism, as distinct from postmodernism. Postmodernism posits that the age of the constant pushing of boundaries is no longer with us and that avant-garde has little to no applicability in the age of Postmodern art.
Visual artists
Pierre Alechinsky (Belgian artist, member of CoBrA) Alexander Archipenko (Ukrainian sculptor) Magdalena Abakanowicz (Polish sculptor) Hans Bellmer (German artist) Joseph Beuys (German artist)See Claudia Schmuckli: "Chronology and Selected Exhibition History", in Joseph Beuys: Actions, Vitrines, Environments (Tate, 2005). Francisco Bores (Spanish painter) Constantin Brâncuși (Romanian sculptor)"Constantin Brancusi" at brainjuice.com. (Accessed March 27, 2007.) Georges Braque (French painter)Artcyclopedia – Links to Braque's works and information David Burliuk (Ukrainian painter, illustrator) Wladimir Burliuk (illustrator, Jack of Diamonds) Pilar Calvo Rodero (Spanish sculptor) Giorgio de Chirico (painter)Giorgio de Chirico in the Museum of Modern Art Joseph Csaky (Hungarian-French sculptor) Salvador Dalí (Spanish painter) Theo van Doesburg (Dutch artist) the founder of De Stijl. Jean Dubuffet (French painter)"Jean Dubuffet", Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Marcel Duchamp (French artist)Calvin Tomkins: Duchamp: A Biography. Naum Gabo (sculptor)"Naum Gabo as a Soviet Émigré in Berlin" by Christina Lodder, Tate Papers, no. 14, Autumn 2010 Pablo Gargallo (Spanish sculptor) Paul Gauguin Alberto Giacometti (sculptor)* Albert Gleizes (French painter and theorist) Julio González (Spanish sculptor)Guggenheim Museum biography Natalia Goncharova (Russian painter) Arshile Gorky (painter) George Grosz (German painter) Neil Harbisson (English artist) Asger Jorn (Danish artist, member of CoBrA) Wassily Kandinsky (Russian artist)Hajo Düchting. Wassily Kandinsky 1866–1944: A Revolution in Painting. (Taschen, 2000). Allan Kaprow (painter/happenings) Roger Kemp (Pioneer Australian abstractionist) Frederick John Kiesler (designer), (sculptor), (visual artist) Willem de Kooning (painter)"Willem de Kooning", Encyclopædia Britannica Yayoi Kusama (Japanese artist and writer) Fernand Léger (painter) El Lissitzky (Russian artist) Kazimir Malevich (Ukrainian artist) Agnes Martin (painter) Henri Matisse (painter)Hilary Spurling. The Unknown Matisse: A Life of Henri Matisse, Vol. 1, 1869-1908. London, Hamish Hamilton Ltd, 1998. . Jean Metzinger (French painter and theorist) Joan Miró (Spanish painter and sculptor) Piet Mondrian (Dutch artist)Hans Locher: Piet Mondrian. Colour, Structure, and Symbolism. Bern-Berlin: Verlag Gachnang & Springer, 1994. Henry Moore (sculptor)Review in Sculpture Magazine Barnett Newman (painter)Barnett Newman Selected Writings and Interviews, (ed.) by John P. O'Neill, University of California Press, 1990. Georgia O'Keeffe (American artist)Roxana Robinson. 1990. Georgia O'Keeffe: A life. Bloomsbury, London. Claes Oldenburg (sculptor)Oldenburg Biography at the Guggenheim Museum Yoko Ono (Japanese-American sculptor/installation artist/musician) Francis Picabia (painter) Pablo Picasso (Spanish painter and sculptor) Antoine Pevsner (sculptor) Jackson Pollock (painter)Piper, David. The Illustrated History of Art, , p460-461. Robert Rauschenberg (painter) Man Ray (painter and visual artist) Ad Reinhardt (painter)Ad Reinhardt bio at Guggenheim Museum site Jean-Paul Riopelle (Canadian artist) Alexander Rodchenko (Russian artist) Olga Rozanova (Russian artist) Louis Schanker (American printmaker and sculptor) Kurt Schwitters (German artist) David Smith (American sculptor) Kenneth Snelson (sculptor) Frank Stella (painter)Frank Stella Biography, Guggenheim Museum Vladimir Tatlin (Russian artist) Remedios Varo (Mexican-Spanish painter) Wolf Vostell (German Artist) Andy Warhol (American painter and director)Andy Warhol at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Wols (German painter and photographer)
Architects
Steve Baer Le Corbusier Norman Foster Buckminster Fuller Antoni Gaudí Frank Gehry Walter Gropius Mary Jordan (American performance artist) Louis Kahn Rem Koolhaas I. M. Pei Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Eero Saarinen Ettore Sottsass Frank Lloyd Wright Zaha Hadid
Performance artists Marina Abramović (Serbian performance artist) Vito Acconci (American performance artist) Marcel·lí Antúnez Roca (Catalan performance artist) Matthew Barney (American performance artist) Günter Brus (Austrian performance artist) Marco Donnarumma (Italian performance artist) Valie Export (Austrian performance artist) Diamanda Galás (American performance artist) Hermann Nitsch (Austrian performance artist) Stelarc (Cyprus-born performance artist)
Musicians
Laurie Anderson (American composer) George Antheil (American composer) Albert Ayler (Free jazz)http://www.allmusic.com/artist/albert-ayler-p6036/biography Albert Ayler Biography at AllMusic John Balance (Music Composer, poet) The Beatles (English rock lyricists, composers, and singers) Luciano Berio (Italian composer) Arthur Brown (English rock singer and performer) Pierre Boulez (French composer) David Bowie (English rock singer and performer) Glenn Branca (American guitarist and composer) John Zorn (American musician and composer) Harold Budd (American composer) John Cage (American composer) Les Claypool (American musician, singer, bassist, film maker, novelist, composer) Ornette Coleman (American jazz musician) John Coltrane (American jazz musician) Anna Eriksson (Finnish composer) Conlon Nancarrow (American composer) Tony Conrad (American violinist and composer) Ivor Cutler (Scottish avant-musician and poet) Miles Davis (American jazz musician) Claude Debussy (French composer)http://www.allmusic.com/artist/claude-debussy-q7223 Information about Claude Debussy Eric Dolphy (American jazz musician) Duke Ellington (American jazz musician, band leader and composer) Don Ellis (American jazz musician, band leader and composer) Brian Eno (English musician and composer) Aphex Twin (British musician and composer) Morton Feldman (American composer) Brigitte Fontaine (French Singer, novelist, playwright and actress) Aaron Funk (Canadian electronic musician) Diamanda Galás (American musician, composer and performance artist) Philip Glass (American composer) Dave Holland (British jazz musician) Charles Ives (American composer)http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/ives.php Charles Ives at Classical Net Roland Kirk (American jazz musician) Bill Laswell (avant-garde musician) György Ligeti (Hungarian/Austrian/Romanian composer) Witold Lutosławski (Polish composer) Béla Bartók (Hungarian composer) Lydia Lunch (American singer, poet, writer and actress) Angus MacLise (American percussionist) Charles Mingus (American jazz musician) Thelonious Monk (American jazz musician) Max Neuhaus (composer) Mike Oldfield (English composer) Pauline Oliveros (American composer and accordionist) Yoko Ono (Japanese artist and musician) Harry Partch (American composer and instrument designer) Mike Patton (American musician, singer and composer) Krzysztof Penderecki (Polish composer) Astor Piazzolla (Argentine nuevo tango pioneer) Jarosław Pijarowski (Polish contemporary musician, poet, photographer, creator of fine arts and theatre-music spectacles) Sun Ra (Free jazz innovator) Steve Reich (American composer) Terry Riley (American composer) Diana Ringo (Finnish composer) Arthur Russell (American musician, singer and composer) Pharoah Sanders (American jazz musician) Erik Satie (French composer and pianist) Janek Schaefer (English composer musician artist) Pierre Schaeffer (French composer, writer, broadcaster, engineer, musicologist and acoustician) Arnold Schoenberg (Austrian/American composer) Archie Shepp (American jazz musician) Karlheinz Stockhausen (German composer) Igor Stravinsky (Russian composer)http://www.allmusic.com/artist/igor-stravinsky-q8016/biography Stravinsky bio at Allmusic David Tudor (American composer) Arto Tunçboyacıyan (Armenian vocalist, multiinstrumentalist) Edgard Varèse (French composer, later naturalized American citizen) David Vorhaus (American electronic composer with the English band White Noise) Igor Wakhévitch (French composer) Anton Webern (Second Viennese School) Robert Wyatt (English singer and songwriter) Iannis Xenakis (Greek composer and architect) Kathleen Yearwood (Canadian composer) La Monte Young (American composer) Frank Zappa (American composer, guitarist and satirist)
Autopsia (ex-Yugoslavian/Czech post-industrial band) Amon Düül II (German krautrock band) Arcturus (Norwegian avant-garde band) Maya Beiser (experimental cellist) Captain Beefheart (experimental rock singer) Boredoms (Japanese noise band) Björk (Icelandic musician) Buckethead (American composer and guitarist) Butthole Surfers (American experimental rock band) John Cale (Welsh avant-garde musician) Can (avant-garde rock band) Coil (British electronic post-industrial band) Cluster (German krautrock group) Einstürzende Neubauten (German industrial band) Fantômas (American noise metal band) Faust (German krautrock band) Pink Floyd (English avant-garde/psychedelic/art rock Band) Gong (French-English avant-garde/progressive rock band) Half Japanese (American alternative band) Hella (band) (American avant-garde/experimental band) Henry Cow (British avant-garde/progressive rock band) Iwrestledabearonce (American progressive/avant-garde metal band) Jonathan Davis and the SFA (American avant-garde band) JPEGMAFIA (American rapper and producer) Kayo Dot (American avant-rock/metal band) Kraftwerk (German electronic/krautrock group) Laibach (Slovenian experimental/avant-garde/industrial music group) The Mars Volta (American experimental/fusion rock band) Melvins (American experimental rock band) Meshuggah (Swedish experimental/progressive metal band) Moondog (American avant-garde artist) Neurosis (American sludge/drone/post-metal band) The Observatory (Singaporean experimental rock band) Ours to Destroy (avant-garde folk rock band) Pan.Thy.Monium (Swedish progressive metal band) Pere Ubu (American post-punk band) Art Bears (British avant-rock band) Public Image Ltd (British post-punk band) Radiohead (English art rock/experimental rock band) Ram-Zet (Norwegian avant-garde metal band) Rasputina (experimental rock band) Recoil (band) (British avant-garde/electronic musical project) The Residents (American avant-rock band) Scars on Broadway (Experimental rock band) Scott Walker (American experimental avant-garde pop musician) Sigh (Japanese progressive/avant-garde black metal band) Sleepytime Gorilla Museum (American avant-garde metal/rock group) Soft Machine (English avant-garde/progressive rock band) Sonic Youth (American alternative band) Sunn O))) (American drone/metal/ambient band) Swans (American post-punk/No Wave band) Throbbing Gristle (English industrial band) Mr. Bungle (American avant-garde metal group) The Velvet Underground (American art/protopunk band) Lou Reed (American alternative/avant-garde/protopunk musician) Patti Smith (American protopunk singer) Vernian Process (American steampunk/avant-garde band) Už jsme doma (Czech avant-garde band) What's He Building in There? (Canadian avant-garde metal group) Waltari (Finnish progressive/avant-garde/alternative metal band)