3 Artists I Like Right Now
I’m going to share 3 artists I like with you. This is not a timely “who’s hot in the art world”, just artists that I’ve recently either bought a print of or dream about having a piece in my home one day. Andddd they happen to all be ladies!
Flora Yukhnovich
Julie Mehretu
Heather Day
Flora Yuknovich
Born in Norwich, UK, Yuknovich studied portraiture at Heatherley School of Fine Art and an MA Fine Art at the City & Guilds of London Art School. She is 34 years old.
She takes the rococo art movement - extravagent, whimsical - and interprets it with modern abstraction. I like the flurry of colours, the triumphant grandeur, the mystery of the forms you can justttt about interpret before they dissolve into something else. She captures the freedom and liveliness of Boucher and Fragonard with her own modern twist. I appreciate her cheeky titles.
I saw her work, Sweet Spot (2019), below at Sotheby’s in 2023, which sold for US$1.2mm at ~3x the estimated price. It’s even more beautiful in person.
Sweet Spot, 2019, Flora Yuknovich
Fun fact: UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has one of Yukhnovich's paintings in his Downing Street home.
Julie Mehretu
Julie Mehretu is an Ethiopian American artist living in NYC. Her large-scale multi-layered landscape-abstract paintings depict the effects of urban sociopolitical changes.
I am biased towards her because her artwork covers a giant mural in the Goldman Sachs lobby in the NY office (see below). Her father is a professor (like mine) in geography; it’s interesting that she uses technical drawings of various urban buildings and linear illustrations of urban efficiency (i.e. city grids and weather charts) in her work.
Mural, 2010, Julie Mehretu, Goldman Sachs lobby, NYC
One of my favourite works of hers is her Stadia series: “In Stadia I, II, and III (2004) Mehretu conveys the cultural importance of the stadium through marks and layers of flat shape. Each Stadia contains an architectural outline of a stadium, abstracted flags of the world, and references to corporate logos” (Wikipedia). I brought home this MoMa print last time I was in NY. She also recently set a new auction record for an African-born artist when her Untitled, 2001 sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2023 for $9.3mm (with fees).
Untitled, 2001, Julie Mehretu
A few of her other works can be seen below.
Heather Day
Finally, I came across Day on Instagram - thank youuuu ad targeting. I like the large-scale format of her artwork, her clean lines yet chaotic mess intentionally enclosed within them. There’s a bit less going on in these works compared to those of the other two mentioned. Her work inspires me to paint again…
She grew up in Hawaii and currently lives in Southern California. Looking back at her work, it’s cool to see how it has evolved over time. I like her current works from 2023 the most. Her works are definitely much more affordable than the other two ladies above.
Her artwork reminds me of this Oscar de la Renta dress I came across recently too.
Thanks for reading!
Katya