The ever-growing popularity of visual sharing platforms like Instagram and Pinterest has led the nation to embrace art and incorporate it into their lives more than ever. Yet when it comes to making purchases and bringing art in to our home, and getting to know the UK art scene, many don't know which artists they should be investing in.
The UK art scene is continuing to expand into new, attention-grabbing genres, with numerous exhibitions taking place and new artists cropping up every year. At Artfinder, we are privy to being exposed to a lot of this exciting new talent, and it looks like 2013 is set to be one of the best years yet for emerging artists.
Here are my thoughts on five artists to watch out for in 2013:
1.Vermibus -
His precise identity remains a closely guarded secret - which makes him all the more appealing. His heightened profile for the last twelve months has left street art observers in no doubt as to Vermibus's rising status on the international post-graffiti scene. The Berlin-based artist's innovative approach involves removing advertising posters from bus-stops around the city and brushing the images with solvent to distort and dehumanise their glossy airbrushed icons. He then carefully places the advertisements back into their original contexts, to the amusement of tourists and locals alike. Vermibus capped off 2012 with December's NO-AD anti-consumerism project, for which he removed over 30 posters from the biggest consumer areas of Berlin in the space of 10 hours. I expect plenty more adventurous interventions in 2013!
2.Ting-Ting Cheng -
2012 saw London-based photographer Ting-Ting Cheng exhibit throughout Europe, with works on show in Germany, Croatia and the UK. Her thoughtful visual commentaries on isolation, foreignness and modern notions of value have won her widespread plaudits in recent months. This trend looks set to continue as Cheng has kicked off 2013 with a solo exhibition in her native Taiwan. Moving from strength to strength, the Signature Photography Award-winning artist was named in Hong Kong Perspective Magazine's '40 under 40' list for 2012.
3.Delphine Lebourgeois -
A spate of successful art fair showings has seen Delphine Lebourgeois firmly establish herself as a darling of the British press in the last year or so, with her work chosen to headline event coverage from The Times, Marie Claire, Time Out and Vogue. The Central St. Martins graduate's rich, surrealist artworks have won her a burgeoning national and European following which is set to increase in 2013. The French-born artist's turn of phrase is as delightful as the works she creates, reflecting in an interview, "I trap an emotion like a little wild animal and I dress him up in an image. I make him look beautiful".
4.Bartosz Beda -
2012 was a big year for Bartosz Beda. The talented young painter was catapulted to national attention following his nomination for Charles Saatchi's New Sensations award directly after his graduation. Beda's absorbing, gestural works have a dark energy, possibly a result of the young artist's neatly put life philosophy, as he explains, "I see humanity as a chocolate cake, where beneath the 'iced' surface lies an intriguing and challenging mixture of fears and social pathology". Having won a six month scholarship at The Academy of Fine Arts in Dresden, and with further exhibitions lined up for the year ahead, this Polish dynamo is definitely one to watch.
5.Henrietta Simson -
She is the winner of the prestigious and lucrative Threadneedle Prize in 2011, and the past year has seen painter Henrietta Simson continue to produce her critically acclaimed atmospheric landscape oils. Referencing early Renaissance depictions of space, Simson's artworks have attracted considerable insider attention. 2013 looks set to be a busy year for the London resident, who is my top tip to be picked up by a major gallery in the months ahead. Simson's work has been exhibited throughout the UK, as well featuring in solo and group shows in New York and Miami.
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