This course will provide a historical overview of visual art from the mid eighteenth-century through the early twenty-first century, with the aim of establishing a critical dialogue between the art of the past and contemporary practices. The course will introduce students to crucial philosophical, social, political and technological changes that have profoundly shaped the development of modern art and contemporary art, enabling students to understand the complex connections between artistic practices and the contexts they emerge within. The course will also examine modern and contemporary art as a global phenomenon, with particular emphasis given to vital moments of artistic exchange between cultures. Though this course will focus primarily on visual art, it will also explore the dynamic dialogue between art, design and architecture at key historical junctures. The course is structured both chronologically and thematically, with the theme of each class conceived as a means to bridge the material methods and conceptual strategies shared by modern and contemporary art.