Data Spotlight: Artists with the Most Demand in 2023 So Far
Based on Artsy’s internal data.
It might seem hard to believe, but we are a quarter of the way through 2023. For the art world, it’s already been an eventful year, featuring highly anticipated new art fairs, the return of older ones, and an intriguing start to the auction calendar.
Through it all, a fresh crop of art and artists has gained momentum through the attention of collectors, gallerists, and institutions. This creative activity has been reflected on the Artsy platform, where collectors continue to seek out work from newer artists around the world.
In the chart above, we’ve focused on the 20 artists who have experienced the sharpest rise in inquirers on Artsy from the last quarter of 2022 (October through December) to the first quarter of 2023 (January through March).
It’s clear from the names above that the rise of ultra-contemporary artists (born after 1974) continues to be a consistent theme of the art market today. All but two of the featured artists (Michaël Borremans and Per Adolfsen) fall into that category. In fact, half of the artists listed are aged 30 or under.
Camilla Engström tops the list, with inquirers up by 92% this quarter. The popular Swedish artist, who has more than 115,000 followers on Instagram, made waves in the art market last December with a buzzy debut at auction: Her painting Love Tastes Delicious (2020) sold at Christie’s Hong Kong for $72,646, some 467% above its low estimate. Engström’s work has been shown at galleries such as Deli Gallery and Over the Influence, and she is part of a growing group of artists using surrealistic influences to explore themes of female empowerment.
Danish artist Per Adolfsen is second on the list, with a 90% jump in inquirers. Known for his pencil and crayon landscapes of his local Danish wildlands, the artist also has a substantial social media presence, with more than 124,000 followers on Instagram. Adolfsen was featured in a number of fair booths and shows in 2022 from galleries such as 532 Gallery Thomas Jaeckel and sobering, and his work has previously been displayed at exhibitions in Düsseldorf and Shanghai. While prolific, the artist’s work has not yet appeared at a major auction house.
Yusuke Hanai rounds out the top three with an 86% rise in inquirers. It’s been a busy period for the Japanese street artist: Last year, his work was featured in a number of group shows at galleries such as End to End Gallery, 3 White Dots, and XUan Art Research Center. His work was also featured in Gallery Target’s booth at the inaugural Art SG in Singapore this January.
Next is Japanese Filipino artist NKSIN, whose inquirers have risen by 85%. Born in 1994, the artist is known for his cartoonlike characters that weave together pop culture references with 1990s-style animation. The artist had his first U.S. solo show at GR gallery in New York last year, and will have another solo show at Albertz Benda in L.A. this summer.
NKSIN is tied with Cristina BanBan, whose inquirers also rose by 85%. The Spanish painter is among the leading ultra-contemporary artists working today, and is renowned for her striking Neoclassical-inspired works. BanBan’s paintings consistently fetched six figures at auction last year, and the artist set a new record under the hammer this past February when La Fatiga Que Me Das (You Exhaust Me) (2019) sold for $197,582 at Christie’s in London.
Tang Shuo follows, with inquirers up by 84%. The Chinese-born, Liverpool-based painter’s work was featured by a number of galleries over the past year, including Prior Art Space, Artistellar, Gallery Func, and Nothing At All. His first solo show at London’s Ojiri Gallery recently concluded.
Norwegian artist Audun Alvestad is next, with inquirers up by 80%. The artist currently has a hotly tipped solo show, “As if you had a choice in the matter,” on view at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery in London, and he was recently awarded a three-year working grant for young artists by the Arts Council of Norway.
The four names that round out the top 10 are all ultra-contemporary artists.
American artist Anne Buckwalter is sixth on the list, with inquiries up by 78%. The painter is set to have a two-artist show at Andrea Festa Fine Art in Rome this spring, and recently had a solo presentation at Felix Art Fair in Los Angeles with Rachel Uffner Gallery. Next is Chicago-based figurative painter Laura Berger, whose inquirers rose by 75%. Berger had a string of solo shows last year at galleries such as Chefas Projects, Hashimoto Contemporary, and Eve Leibe Gallery.
Maarten Baas, whose inquirers rose by 74%, is tenth on this list. Acclaimed for his furniture designs and whimsical clocks, Baas recently opened a solo show, “Play Time,” at Carpenters Workshop Gallery in Los Angeles, which is on view through May 26th. His work can be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Art Institute of Chicago.
