As a rule, most people have little interest in their creative contemporaries, giving preference to artists of past centuries. A hat acquaintance occurs only in the event of a unique event: theft or throwing away of a painting / installation, the creation of a new work from completely unexpected materials. However, contemporary artists are not discouraged and continue to create to the delight of themselves and their admirers, earning considerable sums.
Western creators
One of the most popular contemporary artists is the American Jeff Koons. The creator's favorite style is kitsch. Bright colors, randomness, unusual materials and ideas - this is what allowed Koons to gain wide popularity back in the 80s of the 20th century. Today the artist is the president of his own corporation Jeff Koons, which creates unusual sculptures. The most popular works: full-length "figurines" of Michael Jackson with his monkey, covered in gold (sold for $ 5, 6 million); Heart (bought at auction in 2007 for $ 23.6 million) and Tulips (also sold for $ 23.6 million).
One of the author's most fantastic series is the giant sculptures created from elongated balloons. Bright dogs, Balloon Flower 3, Tulips look easy. However, the weight of such a sculpture can reach several tons.
Despite the high value of Koons' work, Damien Hirst from Great Britain is the richest contemporary artist. The central theme in the work of the creator is death. The most popular series that thundered all over the world was Natural History. Hirst alcoholized several dead animals in formaldehyde: a zebra, a cow, a shark, a sheep, etc. For his craving to reproduce the inevitable, but unpleasant ending of life, the artist was nicknamed "the singer of death."
One of the most expensive painters is Jasper Johns, who lives in Connecticut, USA. In his works, the creator mainly uses bright, rich colors and simple images: letters, targets, flags, numbers, cards. There is still no consensus among researchers regarding the stylistic direction chosen by Jasper Johns. Some attribute it to pop art, others to neo-Dadaism.
The East is awake
It is worth noting that creators from Asian countries predominate in world art today. China is in the lead in this aspect. Several artists from the Middle Kingdom are among the top ten.
Zeng Fanzhi became the leader among his compatriots. Today the artist has moved away from his earlier expression and focused on symbolism. The soft colors, general calmness and relaxation of the paintings have made Fanzhi one of the most sought-after Asian artists in the world.
The first exhibitions of Zeng Fanzhi's paintings outside of China took place in 1993. But the artist began to receive record sums for his works relatively recently: in 2008, the painting "Mask Series No. 6" brought the artist $ 9.7 million.
The second most popular Chinese artist in the world is Zhou Chunya. The series of works "Green Dog" brought real world popularity to the master. Animals of different, poorly identifiable breeds are captured in a variety of emotional poses. As conceived by the author, this "dog" is a symbol of loneliness and the uncertain position of a person in modern society. The total profit of the works sold was € 23.9 million.
Speaking of artists from the East, one cannot fail to mention the Japanese creator Takashi Murakami. The painter, designer and sculptor creates very expressive, positive works, combining real opposites in them: West and East, past and present, chaste and vulgar. In the West, Murakami's fame was brought about by his collaboration with Marc Jacobs - the Japanese worked on the design of Louis Vuitton products.
