words Al Woods
Contemporary art has never been more popular than it is today. In fact, it now accounts for over 15% of the global secondary Art Market. If we compare this to 20 years ago, the contemporary art market has grown a staggering 17%.
But what is contemporary art? In basic terms, contemporary art is a piece of art that is produced today. This can include things like paintings, sculptures, installations, performances, photography, and video art. From emerging talent to established artists, we’ve made a list of some of the best contemporary artists to keep your eye on this year. This list features some of the most innovative and creative artists currently working in contemporary art:
1. Banksy
We’ve all heard of the artist Banksy. Over the last few years, he has become one of the most popular artists of all time. Banksy’s artworks are regular crowd-pleasers, with people coming from all around the world to visit the places where his murals appear. Celebrated for his anti-capitalist stance and tongue-in-cheek humour, the graffiti artist is renowned for using monkeys, rats, and other characters to comment on the nature of human behaviour and current events.
Thanks to his increasing popularity, lots of art collectors struggle to find artwork by Banksy. If you’re interested in purchasing a piece of artwork from one of the world’s leading artists, then visit https://www.contemporaryarttrader.com/.
2. Miriam Cabessa
Miriam Cabessa uses her body as a paintbrush to produce immersive paintings. She refers to her works of art as “slow-motion action painting”. Cabessa performs choreographed acts of painting. She repetitively applies layers of paint to create intimate compositions.
Miriam Cabessa usually spends most of her time travelling between New York and Tel Aviv, where she showcases her work. However, in 2020, Cabessa also exhibited her art in several exhibitions in Israel. Last year Cabessa spent a huge amount of time producing a new body of work comprising of two series of paintings – a Circle series and a Bauhaus series.
3. Jordan Casteel
If you’ve not heard of Jordan Casteel before then where have you been? Jordan Casteel (born in 1989) is an American figurative painter who has been on the contemporary art scene for a few years now.
Jordan Casteel graduated from the Yale School of Art in 2014. Proving just how good she was, just a few months after graduating, Casteel exhibited her art in a critically acclaimed solo show in New York. Since then, she has gone on to become one of the most popular contemporary artists today. Casteel usually paints sensitive, rich portraits of her lovers, friends, family members, and strangers.
4. Jerkface
Jerkface is a New York-based artist who produces surrealist fusions of popular cartoon characters. He works with all mediums from resin sculptures to murals. Jerkface’s nostalgic pieces of art usually include a hybrid of characters from cartoons like the Looney Tunes, Disney, Sesame Street, and other popular cartoons we all know and love.
Over the last few years, Jerkface’s creations have increased in popularity around the world. In fact, his first print release with Maddox Gallery was a complete sell-out with all of his work being sold in under one hour. This shows just how good this artist is. Jerkface is expected to exhibit more of his work in London this year.
If you buy the right contemporary art, you could be making a smart investment. For example, a Banksy piece of artwork that cost £60 in 2004 is now worth over £120,000. However, choosing the right contemporary art can be difficult. If you’re looking to buy a piece of contemporary art this year, then make sure you check out the artists we’ve listed above.
