Following our previous post about a trendy topic of interracial relationships, today we focus on other trendy waves in contemporary art. We will touch on figurative painting, NFT, direct sales, and more. Read on and find out it yourself.
The growth of figurative painting
The year 2022 brought more exhibitions to the figurative painting genre. First, Alex Katz, an artist noted for his works in the genre of portraiture, has had two exhibitions in New York and Madrid. The artist is well-known for his talent and portraiture works. One more artist well-known for figurative painting is Turner Prize. Her paintings are shown at Tate Modern gallery. If you happen to be close to Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, you can see the works by Lynette Yiadom-Boakye. This artist uses oil to paint the lives of Black men and women. And one more artist working on figurative paintings is Jenny Saville whose works are now shown in Florence.
Some experts say that figurative painting is a sort of answer to the art becoming a part of NFT. Figurative paintings are designed to create an emotional bond with the viewer. They depict signs and situations that are familiar to all people. And hence these pictures seem so close to all of us.
One more evident sub-trend that develops at the same time as the growth of figurative painting is the emerging interest in Black American portraits. A good example of that is the exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art which focuses on the past two centuries of Black American life.
NFT is becoming a new trend
NFT is making a great impact on the whole world, including art. In 2022, some famous museums have even carried out panel discussions to touch on the topic of NFTs and their possible application in museums. And it is evident that 2022 and upcoming years will bring even more attention to this combo of museums and NFT. One example of that is the British Museum, which has already organized a second NFT sale with LaCollection.io. It is even predicted that soon all popular museums will have digital copies of their full collections in the metaverse.
One more advanced thing in this regard is the Museum of Crypto Art, which is a metaverse collection of art that was created in 2020. Today, its collection can be also found displayed in several physical places all around the globe. However, the Crypto Art museum will soon have its own home as well – in New York. Other well-known crypto art museums are the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano and Seattle NFT Museum, which specializes exclusively in NFT art.
Textile art draws attention to ecology problems
Textile art is also gaining in popularity. Experts also forecast that textile art is winning its place in the world of contemporary art. Textile art is a magical mix of sculpture, performance, and drawing. It emphasizes the importance of eco-friendly materials even in such aspects of our life as art. The textile used for pictures is produced of recycled materials, which adds extra sense to this form of art. For example, the artist Rosana Escobar uses fique fibers leftovers that are left from the manufacturing of coffee bags. With this material, Rosana creates rugs. Marcellina Akpojotor is an artist from Nigeria who uses leftovers of materials that she collects from local fashion houses, recycles, and then creates quite sophisticated portraits of domestic life. One more prominent artist who draws the attention of the public to ecology is Andrea Garcia Vasquez and her project Shapes of Destruction. The design features deforestation of the Amazon taken from Google Earth.
Street art is on the rise
Outdoor and local exhibitions are gaining in popularity after the restrictions caused by the pandemic. That’s why street art is also experiencing good times. Uffizi Gallery in Florence. A famous Italian art gallery, even acquired a piece of street art so as to add it to their collection.
One more example is Destination Crenshaw. An outdoor museum that has a collection of black artists’ works and is situated along Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles. The Urban Art Mapping Project of the University of St Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota has started a great project, a crowdsourced database of street art. The idea is to keep the street art that appeared after people got too shocked by the death of George Floyd.
Direct sales to consumers are growing
Direct sales are gaining popularity because of the covid times. Gallery as a mediator is disappearing from the equation and now customers can buy artwork directly from artists. Some platforms let artists display their artwork. Artists pay a relatively small fee and sell directly to people. Traditional galleries can retain around 30-60% commission which makes digital galleries quite tempting for artists.