Many people fail to appreciate the thought and innovation that often goes into the work of contemporary artists. It is easy to look at a piece of art and think it is nothing special, or something we can do at home. Half the difficulty of creating great art, however, is being the person who plans a concept out of nothing. Whether or not it is easy to imitate after that moment is not really the point. If you are interested in contemporary and modern art, there are several famous modern artists you should be aware of. Here is a run down of some of the biggest players producing right now.
First, one of the most prolific living contemporary artists in the world is Gerhard Richter, who has been working diligently at his art for many decades now. His pieces have sold for millions, and he is currently the top selling living artist in the world. One of his pieces, titled Domplatz, Mailand, sold for 37 million dollars in 2013. An artist of German origin, Richter has produced artwork in a variety of styles, being an abstract artist, a photo manipulator, and a traditional oil painter at various times. One of his most famous series is 4900 colors.
Second, Marjetica Potrc is a Slovenian artist who experiments with architecture and seeks to create art that helps people in the real world, such as when she designed dry toilets for Latin American slums. Her pieces are usually an examination of structures in other countries, that have been altered in order to make them both more livable and serviceable. Among contemporary artists, her art transcends being simply an observation. In its real world usages, it is an interaction with the very structures it seeks to question.
Third, the english Damien Hirst is well known famous contemporary artists, and is as much internationally renowned as he is internationally accused of being a fraud. A common theme in Hirst artwork is the theme of death, and many of his pieces have been animals and animal parts preserved in Formaldyhyde. The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living is one of his most well known pieces, and it is a preserved tiger shark. He also made headlines several years ago for selling a platinum skull studded with diamonds. The fact that he himself contributed to the purchase was an interesting statement within the piece.