8 Up-and-Coming Artists to Keep an Eye Out in 2023

Seoul-based artist Ahn Tae Won explores the line between virtual and reality through the distortion of images and memes he finds on the internet. Navigating the ways of modern visual communication, Won utilizes materials and techniques to give the illusion of distortion and glitching on a three-dimensional scale. Manipulating the digital and content-heavy nature of the internet, Won is able to create an understanding of how the current generation processes information through humour and memes. We are excited to see how Won visualizes the 2023 reality. 

New York-based artist Emma Stern uses a traditional oil-on-canvas to mimic sculptures made with 3D technology. Her pastel works are iridescent and merge futuristic and fantasy themes to create her version of feminist and empowering pieces. In 2022, Stern had her solo exhibition Booty!, which opened at the Half Gallery in New York City. In addition to her unique approach to visuals and incredible attention to detail, Stern’s ambitious and fierce motifs of empowering women shine through in her work.

French visual artist Mimosa Echard has made her mark in the art world by creating art inspired by the coexistence of living and non-living and human and non-human. Her works include the integration of medicinal plants to create hybrid ecosystems. Echard’s installations have gone international, and her exhibits never fail to awe.

Artist Sara Sadik has continued to pursue her interest in portraying the result of subjugating marginalized French youth in her latest installations at the Crèvecouer in Paris. Sadik integrates technology into her work, and has created visuals using the computer game Grand Theft Auto and Ultimate Vatos in order to create the effect of watching from behind the scenes of a video game. In her intimate installations, she gives a new life to technology and seamlessly combines it with artistic and futuristic elements. 

Born in Germany, artist Dana-Fiona Armour studied in Paris where she became fascinated by the comparison between human and non-human existence. Combining science and art, Armour has assigned a much deeper and more investigative meaning to the craft. With minimalistic visuals, Armour’s latest MC1R Project utilizes gene-editing technology, and her previous works include the utilization of marble, animal bone powder, glass, and more. Her work is proof that there truly is no limit to artistic expression.

Iranian-American artist Tala Madani creates fascinating mind-bending images that reflect current issues regarding gender issues and political authority. Mainly creating works to the effect of “smashing the patriarchy," Madani’s pieces are thought-provoking and use slapstick humor to create understandable metaphors for the message she is trying to convey. Her first North American exhibit, Biscuits, is on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and employs the theme of history and global issues. Madani’s works have been displayed internationally from Tokyo to Stockholm to London to New York City.

Taking abstract art and shaping it into hidden themes and visuals, Canadian artist Kathryn Macnaughton successfully combines expressionism and geometric figures while employing shadow tricks and curvy elements to create natural and feminine pieces. Since her takeoff as an artist, she has had her work presented in a number of renowned galleries around the world. Mixing abstraction and reality, her pieces are a fresh perspective on abstract art.

Artist Frieda Toranzo Jaeger’s paintings borderline a sculptural nature, and evoke a futuristic feel. In her multi-paneled paintings, Toranzo Jaeger creates elaborate scenes that are almost three-dimensional-like. Her latest installation Autonomous Drive is a multi-canvas series of her futuristic take on vehicles and can be viewed at the MoMA PS1 in New York City.