The rise of figurative art: how young visual artists are becoming powerful influencers
It’s no secret that I became obsessed with art (in a good way). At 19 years old, I got into art school, studied painting and art history. Being a visual artist wasn’t enough for me, I really felt the need to better understand the art market’s structure, what makes a good or a bad artist and how art investment works. Later, a crazy idea came to my mind: I decided to enroll into business school. So there you go, at 27 I went back to school and studied cultural management.
Nowadays, I kind of feel like a “mad researcher”, Googling for information related to art trends, hoping I’d wake-up one day and find the perfect article or book. The more I search for answers, the less answers I find. It’s like if all of the books were written by the same person, with the same statistics and same stories. In my opinion, the best way to understand what’s happening in the art world is to meet with artists, follow their Instagram accounts and analyze what’s going on there. Social media reflects society; it is our primary tool for communication. I believe Instagram really is powerful when it comes to expressing oneself. The lack of physical interaction between humans has freed people from their real identities.
In the past 5 years, millennials and especially Genzers, started caring a lot more about social and political issues, be it equality or environmental. If you scroll on Instagram, you’ll notice that figurative art is trending among young artists. With the rise of political and environment related issues in our society, young artists feel the need to express and share their ideas with the world. They are becoming powerful influencers, engaging with their audience like never before. Women artists explore female empowerment as a response to patriarchy, some artists are more concerned about sustainability, others about poverty in the world or gender equality and LGBT rights.
No matter the cause they are defending, they all have a message to spread to the world. They are our heroes <3
Art by Lisa Schittulli, Krampus Night, 2019, graphite on paper, 45,5x38cm, courtesy of the artist
Art by Alain Polo Nzuzi, Séduis Moi Ville / Beaugocity
Sources:
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/true-gen-generation-z-and-its-implications-for-companies?cid=soc-app
