Avant Garde

Avant-garde, meaning ‘advance guard’ in French, is a term used to describe art that is innovative or experimental in its subject matter. The term became widely used between the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and encompassed many other movements such as Realism, Modern art, Cubism and Surrealism and has developed today into a term which is associated with any art that appears to challenge existing ideas and forms or is seen as original and often controversial.

Marcel Duchamp's 'Fountain' was certainly seen as ahead of its time, experimental and challenging when exhibited in 1917.