What is mixed media art?

Key facts about mixed media

Inverted Tulipbook 28 by Gordon Cheung, made of newspaper and paint. — Image caption,
Inverted Tulipbook 28, 2013, © Gordon Cheung. All rights reserved, DACS/Artimage 2023

This artwork by British-Chinese artist Gordon Cheung is a mixed media piece, made using newspaper and paint.

Media in art means the materials used by an artist to make their work.

Mixed media art is when the artist combines a mixture of different materials to create their work.

The materials used can be anything, like paint, paper, cardboard, photographs, found objects, things from nature - anything!

Many artists throughout history have made mixed media art when they combined materials in one piece of art, although they may not have called it 'mixed media'.

Examples of mixed media artworks

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Image caption,
Man in the Chimney by Pablo Picasso
In around 1912, artists like Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque started to make mixed media pieces of art as part of an art movement called Cubism. Image: © Succession Picasso/DACS, London 2023.
Image caption,
Violin and Sheet Music by Pablo Picasso
Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso created mixed media cubist artworks in as well as paintings. As Cubism was all about showing different viewpoints at once, cutting and sticking different items to make one image worked well. Mixed media artworks, like collages can also include pre-existing items such as newspapers or music sheets. Image: © Succession Picasso/DACS, London 2023.
Image caption,
Desire by Hew Locke
Mixed media artworks might also be 3D sculptures such as this example called Desire by Hew Locke. This is a sculpture of a boat and the artist has used a variety of materials such as wood, metal, rope and fabric to make it. Image: © Hew Locke. All rights reserved, DACS/Artimage 2023.
Image caption,
Dad's Ice-Cream Van in Hertford Bootle 1970 by Chila Kumari Singh Burman
Chila Kumari Burman makes art that is inspired by her childhood. In this mixed media piece called Dad's Ice-Cream Van in Hertford Bootle 1970, you can see photographs of the artist's father who drove an ice cream van. She has also used bank notes. Image: © Chila Kumari Singh Burman. All rights reserved, DACS/Artimage 2023.