The richest contemporary artists. Artists of modern painting

One of the most popular artists of our time is the American Jeff Koons. The creator's favorite style is kitsch. Bright colors, randomness, unusual materials and ideas - this is what allowed Koons to be widely popular back in the 80s of the 20th century. Today the artist is the president of his own Jeff Koons Corporation, which creates unusual sculptures. The most popular works: "figurines" in full growth of Michael Jackson with his monkey, covered with gold (sold for $5.6 million); "Heart" (purchased in 2007 for $23.6 million) and "Tulips" (also went under the hammer for $23.6 million).

One of the author's most fantastic series is giant sculptures made from elongated balloons. Bright dogs, Balloon Flower 3, "Tulips" look easy. However, the weight of such a sculpture can reach several tons.

One of the most expensive painters is Jasper Johns, who lives in Connecticut, USA. In his works, the creator uses mostly bright, rich colors and simple images: targets, flags, numbers, cards. Regarding the style direction chosen by Jasper Johns, researchers still do not have a common opinion. Some of them are for pop art, others for neo-dadaism.

The East does not sleep

It should be noted that in the world of art today dominated by creators from Asian countries. China is leading the way in this regard. Several artists from the Middle Kingdom are among the top ten most-most.

Zeng Fanzhi became the leader among his compatriots. Today, the artist has moved away from his usual expression and focused on symbolism. The soft colors, the overall calmness and relaxation of the paintings have made Fanzhi one of the most sought after Asian artists in the world.

The first exhibitions of Zeng Fanzhi's paintings outside of China took place in 1993. But the artist began to receive record amounts for his work relatively recently: in 2008, the canvas "Mask Series No. 6" brought the creator $ 9.7 million.

The second most popular Chinese artist in the world is Zhou Chunya. The real world popularity to the master was brought by the work "Green Dog". Animals of different, poorly identifiable breeds are captured in a variety of emotional poses. According to the author's idea, this "dog" is a symbol of loneliness and the uncertain position of a person in modern society. The total profit of the sold works amounted to €23.9 million.

Speaking from the East, it is impossible not to mention the Japanese creator Takashi Murakami. The painter, designer and sculptor creates very expressive, positive works, combining real opposites in them: West and East, past and present, chaste and vulgar. In the West, Murakami became famous for his collaboration with Marc Jacobs - the Japanese worked on the design of Louis Vuitton products.

There is a very large number of contemporary Russian artists, whose activities are known only in certain circles - the broad masses are often far from contemporary art and, out of inertia, are content with knowledge only about the work of Russian classics. We want to correct this situation, so further we will tell you what a Russian contemporary artist is like using the example of the following five authors.

Ilya Kabakov

This contemporary artist is one of the most significant Russian painters of his time, who personifies contemporary art, in particular, the soul of Moscow conceptualism. One of the paintings, "Beetle", painted in 1982, was sold in 2008 at an auction in London for almost six million dollars and entered the list of the most expensive paintings created by Russian artists. Modern paintings by Kabakov are now exhibited in many museums around the world: in the New York Pace Gallery, the Moscow Multimedia Art Museum and others.

I don’t know how others resisted this terrible complex: “You are already 25 years old, and you are not Raphael yet!”. But for me it is one of the scariest stimulating moments. ( Ilya Kabakov)

Another landmark work of the artist, "Holidays No. 6", depicts a typical Soviet illustration, decorated with candy wrappers on top - they seem to mask the picture and thus represent mock optimism that hides dreary reality behind it. In general, the concept of escapism is inherent in the work of Ilya Kabakov - an escape from the surrounding reality and immersion in art.

Sergey Volkov

Sergey Volkov wrote many of his modern paintings under the impression of a trip to Germany, where he had to go on a creative business trip. A whole series of canvases is dedicated to German architectural gothic and folklore and is fanned with some kind of symbolism. After a cycle of "German" paintings, the contemporary artist painted a series on the subject of North American Indians and representing portraits of freedom-loving Indian leaders.

And today the main theme of the painter's work is the beauty of Moscow landscapes: Taganka, Stankevich Street, Kadashevskaya Embankment. Volkov's modern painting is an impressionistic image of a simple, everyday capital, as it is, but at the same time in bright colors that appear in the sun, traffic lights and colorful trams.

Grigory Bruskin

Grigory, or Grisha Bruskin, as his artistic name sounds, admired the profession of an artist since childhood. While studying at an art school, he drew inspiration from the works of French Renaissance painters.

I can call myself a happy person as long as I can work. ( Grigory Bruskin)

In the 80s, when Bruskin was in exile, his work acquired a certain structure, with the help of which he managed to organize various symbols, signs and social myths. According to this approach, a modern artist combined his works into whole series or collages, where he depicted objects and inscriptions that are an allegory for some concept. One of these paintings, "The Fundamental Lexicon", subsequently brought him fame, when Milos Forman himself, an Oscar-winning Czech and American director, bought it at one of the auctions.

Semyon Faibisovich

Another eminent Russian artist working in the popular style of photorealism. The author combines his modern paintings in a series: for example, "Razgulyai", "Obviousness", "At the station". The last cycle of works includes the most expensive painting by the painter - "Soldier", which left the auction at Phillips de Pury for as much as 311 thousand pounds.

As the artist himself says, earlier in his works he wondered what exactly we see around us, drawing situations from everyday life: here a person is waiting for the arrival of an electric train, here he is riding in a trolley bus ... Now Faibisovich is more interested in how we see: in order to convey the desired effect, the contemporary artist shoots future scenes using an old mobile phone, and then transfers it to canvas.

Valery Koshlyakov

Contemporary artist Valery Koshlyakov is one of the most famous Russian painters, who has repeatedly represented the country at various world biennales. The Louvre, the Tretyakov Gallery, the Pompidou Center, the Russian Museum - everywhere you will find his work. The most famous canvas of the author was the painting "Versailles", in 2008 sold for 72.5 thousand pounds at the famous Sotheby's auction.

I am modern only in the sense that I am your contemporary, and not in the sense that I am doing contemporary art. ( Valery Koshlyakov)

Monuments of past eras are the artist's favorite subject of painting. Koshlyakov's modern painting has its own zest, namely, a predilection for using not the most traditional materials for creativity: cardboard, fabric, packing boxes, etc., although in recent years the painter often returns to the canvas. In an attempt to achieve a matte surface, the Russian artist avoids oil paints, preferring acrylic and tempera.

You can also appreciate the palette of Russian fine art of our time by watching the following video report from one of the exhibitions of the Manege Museum:

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The most expensive contemporary artists

Among the myriad of names that modern painting has, the paintings of only certain artists enjoy exceptional success. Among them, the most expensive paintings were the famous neo-expressionist and graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, who, however, died at the age of 27. In our list, you will see only the first seven of those wealthy artists who are alive to this day.

Bryce Marden

The works of this American author are quite difficult to classify and bring to a single art direction, although he is often referred to as representatives of either minimalism or abstractionism. But unlike artists in these styles, whose paintings seem to have never been touched, Marden's contemporary painting retains palette knife strokes and other traces of his work. One of those who influenced his work is considered to be another contemporary artist Jasper Johns, whose name you will meet later.

Zeng Fanzhi

This contemporary artist is one of the main figures of the Chinese art scene today. It was his work called "The Last Supper", created based on the famous work of Leonardo da Vinci, was sold for 23.3 million dollars and became the most expensive painting that modern Asian painting can boast of. Also known are the works of the artist "Self-portrait", the triptych "Hospital" and paintings from the series "Masks".

In the 1990s, his painting style often changed and eventually moved from expressionism to symbolism.

Peter Doig

Peter Doig is a world-famous Scottish contemporary artist whose work is inspired by the theme of magical realism. Many of his works tend to disorient the viewer, even when they depict recognizable images such as figures, trees, and buildings.

In 2015, his painting "Swamped" managed to break the record and become the most expensive painting by contemporary artists from Scotland, being sold at auction for 25.9 million. Doig's paintings "Architect's House in the Hollow", "White Canoe", "Reflection", "Roadside Diner" and others are also popular.

Christopher Wool

Contemporary artist Christopher Wool explores various post-conceptual ideas in his work. The artist's most famous modern paintings are block inscriptions depicted in black on a white canvas.

Such paintings by contemporary artists cause a lot of controversy and dissatisfaction among adherents of traditional painting, but, one way or another, one of Wool's works - "Apocalypse" - brought him 26 million dollars. Wool does not think about the titles of the paintings for a long time, but names them according to the inscriptions: “Blue Fool”, “Troubles”, etc.

Jasper Johns

Contemporary artist Jasper Johns is known for his rebellious attitude towards abstract expressionism, which dominated the painting scene early in his career. Moreover, he works by creating costly canvases with flags, license plates, numbers and other well-known symbols that already have a clear meaning and do not need to be deciphered.

By the way, the most expensive paintings by contemporary artists include the work of the American "Flag", sold at auction in 2010 for $ 28 million. You can also look at the works "Three Flags", "False Start", "From 0 to 9", "Target with Four Faces" and many others.

Gerhard Richter

This contemporary artist from Germany, like many painters at the beginning of his career, studied realistic academic painting, but later became interested in more progressive art.

In the author's work, one can see the influence of many art trends of the 20th century, such as abstract expressionism, pop art, minimalism and conceptualism, but at the same time, Richter retained a skeptical attitude towards all established artistic and philosophical beliefs, being sure that modern painting is dynamics and search. The artist's works include "Land of meadows", "Reading", "1024 colors", "Wall", etc.

Jeff Koons

And finally, here he is - the most expensive contemporary artist in the world. American Jeff Koons works in the neo-pop style and is known for his catchy, kitsch and defiant creativity.

He is mainly known as the author of a huge number of modern sculptures, some of which were exhibited in Versailles itself. But also among the artist's works there are paintings for which special connoisseurs are ready to give millions of dollars: "Liberty Bell", "Auto", "Girl with a Dolphin and Monkey", "Saddle" and others.

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On the pages of our site you can get acquainted with the biographies of famous and prominent artists of the present and the past. We will not bypass those whose names have gone unnoticed, but who have left their mark on the world of fine arts.

Of course, first of all, we will talk about the life and work of painters, graphic artists, sculptors of the Republic of Bashkortostan. But it is difficult to judge the work of modern masters without knowing history. Perhaps we will repeat ourselves, but one way or another we will try to study the work of artists as closely as possible.

With ergey Alexandrovich Litvinov was born on August 15, 1925 in the distant taiga village of Kartashevo in the Siberian Territory of the RSFSR. The head of the Litvinov family worked as a prospector in gold mines. Sergei from childhood was distinguished by a penchant for drawing. In his youth, a big misfortune happened to him - he was left without a leg. In 1940 the family moved to the Urals. With the outbreak of the war, my father went to the front, very soon a funeral came to him. Sergei was forced to start an independent life early.

In 1949 he graduated from the architectural department of the Sverdlovsk Construction College. By distribution, he was sent to Ufa, where he worked as an architect for the design of industrial and civil construction projects in St. Petersburg-5. Then he moved to the workshops of the Bashkir branch of the Art Fund of the RSFSR (later - the Bashkir creative and production plant of the Union of Artists of the Republic of Belarus), where he was engaged in decorative design of a number of public buildings.

Let's say a few words about Vrubel's family and his childhood and youth. On the line of his father, his ancestors were Russified immigrants from Prussian Poland. Grandfather in the Astrakhan province rose to important ranks. My father was also a military man, he traveled a lot for official needs. Mikhail Alexandrovich was born in the center of Siberia, in the town of Omsk on March 5, 1856. The maternal grandfather was a relative of the Decembrist N.V. Basargin. He held a high position, the first in the region, was the Astrakhan governor-general. Therefore, Vrubel's parents met and got married in Astrakhan. The mother, however, soon died. The second wife, Elizaveta Khristinovna Vrubel, a pianist, a kind, gentle, educated woman, had an unusual influence on the upbringing of little Misha.

Mikhail Vrubel studied at the St. Petersburg gymnasium, then at the Odessa one; studied willingly and since childhood loved to draw. Then he entered the St. Petersburg University at the Faculty of Law. Then there was the service - at the insistence of his father, who was convinced that only a service, better than a military, career could be a field for a real man. But the service did not satisfy the young lawyer, he was already completely absorbed in art and finally made the only possible irrevocable decision - to enter the Academy of Arts in the painting workshop of P.P. Chistyakov.

Antoine Watteau (1684 - 1721) was born in Valenciennes, a small town on the border of France and Flanders. The artist found the crisis period of French history, the period of the regency, when his border town became part of Flanders. Watteau's teacher was a little-known artist and theater decorator. When he was invited to make scenery for the Paris Opera in 1702, Watteau moved with him to Paris - a city of great opportunities for beginners "Morshans", because the art market was already forming there.

In Paris, Watteau entered the workshop of another minor painter, who painted market pictures on stream: fairground images of religious subjects of mass-produced quality, similar to popular prints. Watteau succeeded in the craft, and created virtuoso pictures in haste. At the same time, Watteau worked in the shop of one of the antique dealers on the Old Bridge, where he made copies of paintings by old masters and sold them for little money.