Although the term avant-garde was originally applied to innovative approaches to art making in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it is applicable to all art that pushes the boundaries of ideas and creativity, and is still used today to describe art that is radical or reflects originality of vision.

In the mid-19th century, as a cultural term, avant-garde identified a genre of art that advocated art-as-politics, art as an aesthetic and political means for realising social change in a society.

The early twentieth century saw one of the most influential artists of the time, painter, designer and architect, Theo van Doesburg, leading the charge for what the avant-garde has always represented: the dangerously new.

French for “advanced guard,” originally used to denote the vanguard of an army and first applied to art in France in the early 19th century. In reference to art, the term means any artist, movement, or artwork that breaks with precedent and is regarded as innovative and boundaries-pushing.