Many, either from within or without of the «art world», feel that there aren’t any good artists any more. That there are businessmen of art accumulating huge fortunes, but producing rubbish. And many of us feel that frustration with the art world right now. The high-profile names (Koons, Hirst, Emin, Kusama, etc.) are not even painters! They are mostly about spectacle, branding, and marketability. They thrive in the gallery–auction–collector ecosystem, which rewards shock, gimmicks, and recognisability far more than subtlety, craft, or genuine vision.
But that doesn’t mean that good painters don’t exist anymore. In fact, there are many remarkable contemporary painters working today — they just don’t always dominate headlines because they don’t fit the art-market circus model. Some examples:
- Cecily Brown – British painter whose large, gestural works sit somewhere between abstraction and figuration, with real painterly energy.
- Peter Doig – Scottish-born, Canadian-raised painter, creating atmospheric, dreamlike landscapes and figures.
- Jenny Saville – Known for her monumental, raw depictions of the human body, technically virtuosic. (definitely one of my faves)…
- Kerry James Marshall – American painter who explores Black identity and art history with both narrative depth and painterly brilliance.
- Julie Mehretu – Abstract painter, blending cartography, architecture, and gestural abstraction in vast layered canvases.
- Neo Rauch – German painter, mixing surrealism, socialist realism, and dream imagery in technically masterful ways.
- Dana Schutz – Contemporary American painter, combining grotesque humor, bold color, and real painterly skill.
There’s also a huge wave of lesser-known artists working outside the mega-gallery scene — in local studios, regional galleries, or online — who are pursuing painting with as much rigor and creativity as any “old master.”
The tricky part is that the fame system in contemporary art doesn’t necessarily reflect talent. The business side rewards those who can generate headlines, big installations, or are able to move nuveau riche collectors who are trying to emulate the old rich but cannot have the paintings they already have, usually from the great masters, so they create new masters, (usually talent-less businss-savvy ones) and collect their art and pay exhorbitant prices for them. The «artists» think they are artists and they think they are collectors and it all works out because with a lot of money you can do many things. Meanwhile, many strong painters remain semi-underground or known mainly to curators and serious followers.
So yes — there are still excellent painters, even brilliant ones. But the system makes it seem as if all that’s left are marketers and showmen.
CHEERS
JaZzArt en València 