Jeff Koons Jeff Koons rose to prominence in the mid-1980s as part of a generation of artists exploring the meaning of art and spectacle in a media-saturated era. With his stated artistic intention to “communicate with the masses,” Koons makes use of conceptual constructs—including the ancient, the everyday, and the sublime—creating luxurious icons and elaborate …
KAWS KAWS is a multi-faceted artist straddling the worlds of art and design in his prolific body of work that ranges from paintings, murals, and large-scale sculptures to product design and toy-making. His iconic “XX” signature has its roots in the beginning of his career as a street artist in the 1990s, when he began …
Damien Hirst The fact that he achieved an ‘E’ grade in art A-level and was initially refused a place at Goldsmiths College arguably makes Damien Hirst’s vast array of incredible achievements even more astonishing. The internationally renowned artist, entrepreneur and art collector was born in Bristol in 1965 and spend his childhood in Leeds, where …
Keith Haring Bridging the gap between the art world and the street, Keith Haring rose to prominence in the early 1980s with his graffiti drawings made in the subways and on the sidewalks of New York City. Combining the appeal of cartoons with the raw energy of Art Brut artists like Jean DuBuffet, Haring developed …
Richard Hambleton Richard Hambleton was a contemporary American-Canadian graffiti artist, Often referred to as the “godfather of street art.” Along with his contemporaries Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Hambleton painted directly on the streets of New York and achieved success during the art boom of the 1980s. Born in June of 1954 in Vancouver, Canada, …
Tracey Emin Tracey Emin, CBE, RA is an English artist, born 3rd July 1963. She is part of the group known as Britartists or YBAs (Young British Artists). In 1997, her work “Everyone I Have Ever Slept With” 1963–1995, a tent appliquĂ©d with names, was shown at Charles Saatchi’s “Sensation” exhibition held at the Royal …
Jean-Michel Basquiat A poet, musician, and graffiti prodigy in late-1970s New York, Jean-Michel Basquiat had honed his signature painting style of obsessive scribbling, elusive symbols and diagrams, and mask-and-skull imagery by the time he was 20. “I don’t think about art while I work,” he once said. “I think about life.” Basquiat drew his subjects …
GILDA GARZA Gilda Garza is a Mexican artist born in Sinaloa, Mexico. She started to paint as young as she can remember, a generational talent passed down to her from her grandmother. Her work is inspired by strong, sensual and elegant women who with only one look can manage to have the world at their …
BANKSY Banksy has captured the world’s attention and held it since the late 1990s, when his controversial stencilled artworks rose to fame and transformed him into Britain’s most celebrated graffiti artist. His contempt for authority is no secret and he continues to display powerful artworks on walls, streets and bridges across the globe. He has …
ANDY WARHOL Andy Warhol was a leading figure in the Pop Art movement. Like his contemporaries Roy Lichtenstein and Robert Rauschenberg, Warhol responded to mass-media culture of the 1960s. His silkscreens of cultural and consumer icons—including Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Campbell’s Soup Cans, and Brillo Boxes—would make him one of the most famous artists of …