Based on the 2017 Artprice international report on famous artists in the contemporary art market, we have compiled a list of 30 contemporary artists seen through auction sales. From abstract face painting to street art, these popular artists have developed unique ways to showcase their famous contemporary art.

Miquel Barcelo (1957)

Spanish artist Miquel Barcelo is best known for his ceiling installation of the Chamber for Human Rights and the Alliance of Civilizations at the United Nations Palais des Nations in Geneva. These multicolored stalactite shapes symbolize the sea and the cave, opposing each other, but at the same time being in union. His work explores decay, metamorphosis, and the passage of time, and takes the form of abstract representations of faces, among other things. In 2004, Barcelo became the youngest artist ever to exhibit at the Louvre in Paris.

Njideka Akunyili Crosby (1983)

The universe depicted in her work by Nigerian-American Njideka Akunyili Crosby, she says, is not Nigeria or America, but some other space, a space that every immigrant occupies. Akunyili Crosby creates colorful collage paintings that intertwine intimate moments with commercial images from Nigeria and reference Nigerian history and the post-colonial present. The paintings live and breathe her trans and multicultural charm and fine art identity. Akunyili Crosby became the talk of the contemporary art world when the prices of her work skyrocketed. Last year, her work went from selling for around $100,000 to selling for over $3 million, demonstrating that she is one of the most famous artists today.

Thomas Schütte (1954)

Thomas Schütte, who studied fine art with Gerard Richter in the 1970s and has since made his mark on the art world, explores the human condition through his art. Like other contemporary artists, he offers a critical look at social, political, and cultural issues, challenging the viewer with his memorable images and expressions. In 2016, he opened his own private museum (joining an elite group of contemporary artists including Damien Hirst, who founded private museums) in Hombroich, Germany dedicated exclusively to his sculptures.

Albert Ohlen (1954)

German artist Albert Ohlen, rose to prominence in the 80s as part of the growing Hamburg art scene. Ohlen uses impulsiveness and eclecticism in his work, often starting with a set of rules or structural constraints and using his fingers, brushes, collage, and computers as tools. In recent years, demand for his art has grown in the luxury zone of the art market, leading some to question whether this will change the perception of his famous contemporary art.

Damien Hirst (1965)

Damien Hirst is the most prominent member of the Young British Artists group of contemporary artists that dominated the UK contemporary art scene in the 1990s. Hirst is the UK’s richest living artist and also broke the single artist auction record in 2008 when he sold an entire show of “Beautiful Inside My Head Forever” for $198 million. He is best known for his series of well-known modern art depicting dead animals preserved in formaldehyde and for his “For the Love of God” diamond skull.

If you want to get to know the world of contemporary art and its key players, check out our articles on the artists who, each in their own way, have pushed the boundaries of contemporary art, challenging the status quo and pursuing uncharted artistic paths.

Published by HOLR Magazine.