Vincent van Gogh, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Oscar Claude Monet, Frida Kahlo de Rivera, Pablo Picasso – these and other artists from different historical eras are still on everyone’s lips. Even if one is not an art lover, one has definitely heard of them as part of a curriculum or simply seen them on television or somewhere on the Web. There is a notorious law: artists become popular only after their death.

And it is very unfair, because a person’s talent should be noticed and appreciated not only by future generations, but also by their contemporaries – this additionally inspires and motivates them to create new masterpieces.

It is important not only to remember popular artists from the past, but also to pay attention to contemporary creators of beauty.

Contemporary art is represented by such cultural figures:

• Cindy Sherman (born January 19, 1954, New Jersey, USA) is an American artist working in the technique of staged photographs. The girl became world famous after the project “Frames from an untitled film” – her own photographs in the image of heroines of popular films of the XX century. The creator really likes eccentric characters with bright makeup, an unusual wig and wonderful clothes, that is why they are the main heroes of her pictures. Retro-fashion, innovative scenes, varying from beautiful to grotesque are the hallmarks of her portfolio, and lately the author has often used modern photo processing tools. Cindy Sherman is considered a trendsetter of self-portraits from photographs and often presents exhibitions at the Louis Vuitton Museum, and her work is bought for six-figure zeros!;
• Liu Xiaodong (b. 1963) is a contemporary Chinese artist working within a realist framework. His paintings are full of stories of love, loss and change. His task is to capture the image he has seen with a canvas and oil paints. Often the artist’s paintings depict ordinary people in discreet clothing, with a beautiful landscape or buildings as a parallel reality to reality in the background. “Susie at Home,” “Three Girls Watching TV,” “Naked Black Maya,” “Dream” – the author perfectly conveys the feelings of the characters, uses an unusual perspective and bright colors to enhance the effect. The creator’s exhibitions are presented in Beijing and other cities, and he is also awarded with Preduntial Eye, Contemporary Art, and has played roles in the film “Days” and “Hometown Boy”. The author is constantly on the radar of filmmakers and art lovers;
• Njideka Akunyili Crosby (b. 1983) is a visual artist of Nigerian origin, living and working in the USA since 1999. The painter’s works combine two cultures – national elements of the homeland and the Western world. The artist is not afraid to experiment with the material: acrylic, charcoal, colored pencils, transferable images on paper – all the elements in the paintings look very beautiful and harmonious. Often the artist herself as a child or adult is at the center of the painting, with memories, family albums and pages from Nigerian magazines as her inspiration. The multifaceted artistic experience, and the use of several techniques can keep the viewer interested for a long time. She constantly focuses on syncretism (combining different components) and this can be seen in the works: The Beautiful Ones Series, Janded Something, Split and New;
• Zhou Chunya (1955) is a representative of Chinese painting. He became popular after creating a series of works called The Green Dog. The animals are represented in different poses and embody different emotions. Dogs symbolize human society and loneliness in the crowd. However, the man is not limited to one subject, his portfolio includes paintings of the East and West and people in history: Christie’s SH Spring Auction, Sotheby’s HK, Poly HK, etc. The technique and manner of the creator’s writing occurs in an expressive manner with oil paints. The works of the talented artist were exhibited at the Art Museum in Shanghai and bought by connoisseurs around the world, and since 2006 the man has been working with the company “Manufacture Meissen” – painting pictures;
• Jean-Michel Basquiat (22.12.1960-12.08.1988) was a graphic artist and neo-expressionist. Art was an integral part of the young man’s life: from an early age he attended art classes in Manhattan, and later City-As-School. Since 1976, Jean-Michel with his friend AI Diaz began to paint graffiti on street walls: they wrote a phrase and added the tag “SAMO”, which brought enormous fame. His rejection of street painting in 1980 and his professional rise is marked by the famous phrase “SAMO IS DEAD”. His style is neo-expressionism and primitivism. The author painted on canvas, but there are works even on a piece of paper made with a ballpoint pen: Rose Head, Portrait of Shanon Dawson, Unknown (Skull)”, “Olympic Rings”, “Trumpeter” – Basquiat was not afraid to improvise with ideas and material, so he deserves to be among the best geniuses.