These 3 Names Are Ones To Watch In The Contemporary Art World
There is an opinion that an artist’s work becomes valuable only after his or her death. However, contemporary art and artists have managed to prove otherwise. Here, discover three top modern artists, whose accomplishments are not only of artistic value, but interesting to watch.
Pierre Huyghe, French Artist
The French artist Pierre Huyghe is rightfully considered a conceptualist of contemporary art. His works belong to the revolutionary aesthetics movement. Very often in his pieces, one can see fragments of films or cartoons. The artist even bought the right to use one of the characters from a Japanese company.
Pierre Huyghe’s exhibition formats change frequently, but at the same time, they always surprise and delight. For example, at the Documenta 13 Biennale of Contemporary Art, he dug up the Karlsaue City Park and placed his installation “Unmade” in its place. The film “The Host and the Cloud”, was shot in the abandoned Paris Museum of Popular Traditions with the participation of museum workers, as well as the fantastic installation “After A Life Ahead”.
With his extensive creative career, Pierre managed to hold several dozens of private exhibitions and received four awards in the field of art, including the Hugo Boss Prize in 2002 “for achievements in contemporary art”.
To view more of Pierre’s artwork, click here.
Jasper Johns, American Painter and Sculptor
Jasper Johns is distinguished by his originality. He is not only a painter, but works with prints and sculptures as well. The mixture of different techniques adds further distinction to his masterpieces, making them different from the works of other artists. Johns often combines encaustics, oil painting and newspaper collage. And when working with sculptures, he can easily apply gypsum, as well as metal and wood. One of the first high profile works of Johns was the painting “Flag”, completed in 1955. This objet d’art has got a lot of attention due to the contrasting opinions concerning it. Some considered the work as “a manifestation of American imperialism”, while others traced the disrespect towards the American symbol.
The real success came to Johns after the appearance of another painting on the same subject matter. The painting “White Flag” was bought by the New York Metropolitan Museum. The transaction value has not yet been announced. Johns' sculptures are unusual and he often looks for inspiration for his creation in ordinary household items. These can be light bulbs, flashlights, or even beer cans. For example, the sculpture “Beer Cans”, which was presented in 1960, was created without developing a special concept. The impetus for the creation was a joke heard by Johns that, if desired, the sculptor could even sell beer cans. The joke soon turned out to be true.
Lana Kaufman, Ukrainian Artist Featured as the Artist of the Year
Lana Kaufman is an impressionist painter. When creating her canvas, she applies various materials and techniques, be it oil, acrylic or ink. Her paintings can be immediately recognised at any exhibition, due to her love for bright and pure colours. Her love for art was inculcated from a young age by her mother, who herself was an artist. Kaufman received her first master’s degree in economics. In 2017, she received a second master’s degree, this time in a field closer to her heart – she graduated from the Academy of Culture and Arts Leadership with a degree in Fine Arts.
Over the course of several years, Kaufman managed to participate in dozens of international exhibitions, both in Ukraine and abroad. Currently, she draws inspiration for her artistic endeavours from nature. For example, the Crimea and the Crimean Mountains have played a part in inspiring some of her works. Having travelled since childhood, Kaufman has drawn from various landscapes and revisited them on her canvases. Her art was shown to the public in 2018 at the Museum of T.H. Shevchenko – with the particular piece dubbed “Sources of Power”. It took Kaufman two years to complete the work of art.
In the same year, Kaufman's piece “Atlanta” was shown at the international exhibition Kyiv Art Fair. In 2019, she received the “Woman of the Third Millenium” award. She also took part in the Vienna Ball twice – in 2018 and 2019 – with one of her pieces becoming the most expensive item at the charity auction. In 2019, she won the title of the Queen of the Vienna Ball.
Some of Kaufman's other notable achievements include: exhibiting at the Dialogues of Imagination exhibition in New York and Greece's Ukrainian vision art project.
In her art pieces, Kaufman not only colourfully and vividly depicts diverse places in the world, she also supports various ideas of eco-activism. Her painting “House of the Seagull” adorns the hall of the Ministry for Environment and Protection of Lands and Sea of Italy. Her work was also presented at the international project Woman’s Essence from the Musa International ArtSpace Association under the auspices of the UNESCO Centre Bologna. The exhibition took place in Rome, in the famous gallery space Palazzo Velli Expo. All artists whose attainments were presented at the exhibition received special awards from UNESCO.
In 2020, under her leadership, the Earthmate eco-festival was held in Kyiv. It united entrepreneurs, musicians and artists dedicated to environmental change. According to Kaufman, this eco-festival was very important to her – one she describes as a chance to rethink developments through art and saving the planet for future generations. The festival featured installations by over 20 artists. Her success in the creative field also perfectly combines with her private life. Today, Kaufman is not only a sought after artist but also a loving wife and mother of four children.
You can find Lana's works and Instagram here.
