This guide will assist you in locating information on contemporary artists and their art. The artists covered are representative of work currently being done in the United States and abroad. Each artist's page will link you to samples of their work, videos of the artist working, biographic information and suggested resources. This is not a comprehensive guide, you will find other sources engaging in your own research.
Since contemporary artists are still alive and contributing to the art scene, see if they have a presence in social media. They might have their own account or others may be talking about them. Search names and look for hashtags (#) of their name or works. If you are lucky you can find videos of interviews or the artist at work.
If you don't have an account with a social media site, you can usually still search them by adding site:socialmedia.domain your Google Search.
Example:
"Ashley Bickerton" artist site:facebook.com
"Takashi Murakami" artist site:twitter.com
#MarleneDumas site:instagram.com