Looking for the next hot new artist to add to your collection? Well have we got a treat for you. A new year means many things, but one exciting task you should add to your to-do list, is to look into the artists bursting into the art world who are destined for big things in the future. Here’s our pick of the emerging artists you should have on your radar for 2021!
Arizona Smith @arizonathecat
London-based Arizona Smith is not just an artist, she is also the co-founder of the Lurner Prize, a prize for self-taught artists. A self-taught artist herself, she has been practicing her whole life and is interested in using art as a means of connection, understanding, emotion and reality. Her gorgeous work has a dreamlike quality to it, often referencing things like magic, mythology and folktales.
Tancredi Di Carcaci @tancredi_di_carcaci
Tancredi Di Carcaci burst onto the scene last year through his work with art advisor Daniel Malarkey. The British-Sicilian artist’s sculptural ceramic forms are influenced by contemporary and ancient antecedents. In his recent work he explores the strange and the numinous: investigating Christian Iconography and Pagan Symbolism. He has exhibited with David Gill Gallery and at the Royal College of Art.
Cristina O’Hanlon @cristinaohanlon
Sculptor Cristina O’Hanlon is currently working with catalyst Cat Licitra Ponti. Her yonic forms are made with porcelain and stoneware ceramics, and is inspired by becoming a mother.
Pascal Sender @pascalsender
Pascal Sender was the first artist to be exhibited at Saatchi Yates in London, which is the gallery run by Charles Saatchi’s daughter Phoebe, and her husband Arthur. His work is made for the digital world, appearing like a painting, but then transforming into an augmented reality piece when viewed through your smartphone. Definitely one to watch!
Ivana de Vivanco @ivanadevivanco
Chilean-Peruvian but based in Germany, Ivana de Vivanco’s work is super fun. During the lockdown, she even created a coronavirus colouring book! Super colourful and full of life, her work is exactly what we need on those days where we’re feeling a bit blue.
Giorgio Celin @giorgiocelin
According to Giorgio Celin’s instagram, everything is a self-portrait. And if that’s true, he must have a pretty beautiful life. The Colombian-Italian artist makes figurative paintings, often of couples in intimate settings, shedding light on queer experiences.
Atusa Jafari @atusa_jafari
Berlin-based Atusa Jafari is the artist you didn’t know you needed. Her work is figurative, sensuous and delicate all at the same time. Super feminine and ultra dreamy, she’s probably going to hit the big time, and has already exhibited with Anahita Contemporary.
Botchway Kwesi @K.Botwe1
Ghanaian Botchway Kwesi is an impressionist portrait and figurative artist. His point of focus is the eyes, nose and mouth and he looks to create a dialogue between the subject and the viewer, compelling his audience to become physically and emotionally invested in his subject’s story.
Shatha Al Towai @shatha.altowai
Yemeni artist Shatha Al Towai is currently based in Scotland on residency at the Institute of Advanced Studies. Much of Shatha’s work reflects aspects of life in her society, and the suffering caused by the ongoing civil war in Yemen. Her work is figurative, symbolic, and abstract, and she produces artworks and collections to shed light on issues like internally displaced persons, women, coexistence and enlightenment.
Christopher Hartmann @hartmann.christopher
Christopher Hartmann has an MFA from London’s Goldsmiths University. His paintings are a way of communication and reflection, focusing on large – predominantly male bodies – pulling the viewer in, as they try to unravel their stories.
Text Lizzy Vartanian
