The Artists Garnering the Most Attention in Foundations
Who are the emerging artists garnering attention on Artsy this summer? Many can be found at Foundations, Artsy’s online art fair for emerging art, which runs through August 12th. Now in its third edition, the biannual fair has proven to be an exciting moment to spot the next rising names, many of whom see growth in inquiries, follower counts, artwork saves, and traffic during and after the fair. This summer edition of Foundations is no exception.
During the last edition of the fair in January–February 2024, several artists saw significant spikes in interest. Kevin Sabo and Ivan Arlaud, for example, each had several works in the fair that attracted more than 600 saves, demonstrating increased collector interest in these rising painters’ works. Meanwhile, Delia Hamer’s following on Artsy nearly quadrupled; and Savannah Marie Harris saw five-fold growth in followers. Harris, who was awarded the inaugural Artsy Foundations Prize at the close of the fair, was also among the artists whose works received a surge in inquiries—1,750% growth by the end of the fair.
Jonny Tanna of London gallery Harlesden High Street, which presented Harris’s work at Foundations, noted that the artist already had a strong collector following, though promotion through the fair did grant her new exposure online. Foundations also led to sales of works by other artists Tanna presented, including the late Darryl ‘Joe Cool’ Daniel and PJ Harper—“helping us build a market for our lesser known artists,” Tanna noted. This time around, Harlesden High Street is showing recent works by British artist Marcus Jefferson and American artist Arthur Peña.
Now, in the middle of this latest edition of Foundations, we’re already seeing signals to indicate the breakout artists to watch. Below, we share rankings of the artists who have accrued the most saves and follows at Foundations Summer 2024 so far.
Most Saved at Foundations Summer 2024
Artists with the most artwork saves during Foundations Summer 2024.
At the time of publishing, more than 93% of the 700-plus artworks of Foundations Summer 2024 have at least one save—meaning an Artsy user flagged it to return to later or consider purchasing. This list of the artists with the most artwork saves during the fair so far represents some of the most striking presentations at the fair, though there are some clear themes, including vivid colors, landscapes, and ethereal abstract works.
The Canadian artist Larissa Lockshin leads this list. Her soft, mystical works, rife with color and a luminous sheen, resemble painting, though they’re actually mixed media—oil and pastel on dyed satin. The artist intends for her pieces to be seen as objects, defying the limitations of being reproduced online and viewed on digital screens. Tastemaking London gallery Cob, which had its first solo show with Lockshin in 2023, is presenting three works by the artist in its booth. Another Cob artist, Julien Saudubray, is also in this top five; the French painter is known for his gauzy canvases that vaguely hint at natural forms, featuring misty layers of yellow, orange, and cerulean.
Featured high here, too, is Rebecca Byrne, whose electric-hued landscapes and plant-filled canvases are showcased in Pi Artworks’s solo booth at Foundations. The American artist, who is new to the gallery’s program, presents a new body of paintings and drawings where tree trunks and technicolored fields emerge from abstract swathes of color and gestural lines.
Rounding out the top five are Igi Lola Ayedun and Sheena Rose. Ayedun presents mesmerizing blue-hued, materially rich works—incorporating oil paint, wax, and concrete with lapis lazuli, indigo, pearl, and gold pigments; the Brazilian artist is also featured among the most followed artists below. Rose, shown by Oakland, California’s Johansson Projects, is becoming increasingly known for her playful, dynamic paintings of athletes in action, which feel particularly timely now, in the midst of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Most Followed at Foundations Summer 2024
Artists with the most new followers during Foundations Summer 2024.
The artists showing at Foundations who’ve gained the most followers represent a strong cross-section of the fair—mostly artists born in the 1990s, from four continents, primarily painters, and a balance of abstract and figurative works. And they’re also mostly names that will be new to the art world audience. This is not surprising given that Artsy users often follow the new artists they’ve just discovered and want to keep tabs on.
At the top of this list is the Oakland, California–based artist Carolynn Haydu, presented by MiXX projects + atelier. Though Haydu’s works may resemble painting at first, they’re actually collages on wood panels made up of many layers of painted paper. The works in Foundations, with titles like Desert Dusk and Learning Overland (both 2023), resemble sunsets, geological formations, and forests.
The Belgian painter Soetkin Verslype holds the number two spot. Presented by Ballroom Gallery Brussels, the artist’s color-soaked gouaches transform mundane scenes of people and furniture into joyous visions, made up of slices of contrasting hues that fit together like puzzle pieces.
High on the list, too, is Elli Antoniou, also presented by Cob, whose works made are made from carefully grinding forms and gestures into stainless steel with power tools; and Eleanor Johnson, presented by Gillian Jason Gallery, whose lush paintings inspired by Old Masters enmesh abstraction and figuration.
