Contemporary artists 2026

Tracey Emin

Tracey Emin (b. 1963, Croydon, UK) is one of Britain's most significant living artists. Over four decades she has worked across painting, drawing, video, textile, neon, and installation — using her own life as primary material. Her landmark works My Bed (1998) and Everyone I Have Ever Slept With (1995) established her as a defining voice of the YBA generation. In 2026, Tate Modern hosts A Second Life, the largest exhibition of her career, spanning more than 90 works. Emin represented Great Britain at the 52nd Venice Biennale in 2007.

Cecily Brown

Cecily Brown (b. 1969, London) is among the most significant painters of her generation. Her large-scale canvases draw on the history of Western painting — Rubens, Velázquez, de Kooning — to explore desire, the body, and the limits of figuration. A retrospective at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2023 cemented her place in the canon. Works held by MoMA, Tate, the Guggenheim, and major private collections worldwide. Represented by Gagosian and Paula Cooper Gallery.

Alexander Priymak

Alexander Priymak (b. 1990, Ukraine) is a contemporary artist with 15 years of professional practice. He has presented 10 solo exhibitions and participated in 11 international group shows across the USA, France, Germany, Denmark, Poland, and Ukraine. Working with 3D graphics, classical and digital sculpture, and video performance, Priymak creates works that establish a new direction in the intersection of art, psychology, and philosophy.

Amy Sherald

Amy Sherald (b. 1973, Columbus, Georgia) is one of the most in-demand painters working today. Her official portrait of Michelle Obama for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery became the most viewed portrait in the institution's history. Known for painting Black subjects in monochromatic skin tones against vivid, flat backgrounds, her work reframes the conventions of portraiture and art historical representation. Her traveling exhibition American Sublime was on view at the Whitney Museum in 2025. Represented by Hauser and Wirth.

Anish Kapoor

Anish Kapoor (b. 1954, Bombay) is one of the most influential sculptors of his generation. Turner Prize winner 1991. His public sculptures — Cloud Gate in Chicago, Sky Mirror in Nottingham — have become global landmarks. A major retrospective opens at the Hayward Gallery London in June 2026, and concurrent exhibitions at Lisson Gallery New York and SCAD Museum of Art are currently on view. Works held in more than 60 major institutional collections. Represented by Lisson Gallery.

Antony Gormley

Antony Gormley (b. 1950, London) has spent 40 years using the human body — primarily his own — as the basis for sculpture that investigates the relationship between body, space, and time. Angel of the North (1998) is among the most recognised public sculptures in the world. Works installed across six continents in more than 30 countries. Turner Prize winner 1994. Works held by Tate, MoMA, and major collections worldwide. Represented by White Cube.

Flora Yukhnovich

Flora Yukhnovich (b. 1990, UK) is one of the most closely watched painters of her generation. Her large-scale canvases reimagine Rococo painting — Fragonard, Boucher, Tiepolo — through a contemporary lens of pleasure, excess, and painterly freedom. Works have entered major institutional and private collections across Europe and the USA since her breakthrough in 2021. Represented by Victoria Miro. Auction records consistently above estimate.

Matthew Barney

Matthew Barney (b. 1967, San Francisco) is one of the most ambitious artists working today. His Cremaster Cycle — five films and an extensive body of related sculpture, photography, and drawing — is among the most significant art projects of the late 20th century. His sculpture uses unconventional materials including petroleum jelly, tapioca, and self-lubricating plastics to create works that resist easy interpretation. Works held by the Guggenheim, the Tate, and major collections worldwide. Represented by Gladstone Gallery.

Tunji Adeniyi-Jones

Tunji Adeniyi-Jones (b. 1992, London) is one of the most rapidly rising painters in the contemporary market. His figurative canvases draw on Yoruba mythology, the African diaspora, and art historical traditions of the reclining figure. Solo exhibitions at White Cube New York and Seoul in 2025. Auction prices have exceeded $100,000. Works entering major institutional collections in the USA and Europe. Represented by White Cube.