Top 10 Figurative Painters Today

[@martinlakeuk]

Wow! The revolutionary practise of painting his compositions upside down! What a time to be alive!

[@contemporaryartissue]

😂

[@singlespies]

Just to be clear he’s said many times he doesn’t paint them upside down - he displays them upside down.

[@ivanoffbore6819]

TOP 10 by Boré Ivanoff: 10. Cecily Brown 9.Jenny Saville 8. Adrian Ghenie 7. Néo Rauch 6. Lisa Yuksavage 5. Jonas Burgert 4. Mircea Suciu 3. Vincent Desiderio 2. Justin Mortimer 1. Phil Hale

[@YTuseraL2694]

He may not be as famous within the contemporary artworld, having made his biggest mark in art teaching, but Steve Huston, on purely tevhnical level, deserves to be on the very summit.

[@contemporaryartissue]

A great top 10, with all artists that I personally adore! Great taste, Boré-I did not expect anything else from you ;-)

[@Ikennaobinkaart]

Vincent Desiderio ❤

[@chooselife1509]

Nice list, especially Justin Mortimer. He flies under the radar for some reason....but, no Daniel Richter?

[@ivanoffbore6819]

​@@chooselife1509yeah, I was thinking as well of Daniel Richter, and some more... But then I have to make a TOP 20 list. Anyway, he's one of my favorites too

[@na_haynes]

I painted a picture of my dog yesterday. I think it looks pretty good. It doesn't evoke anything about the human condition maybe, but it looks like him.

[@gaorezaga5099]

Chris Mars, Neo Rauch and Jonas Burgert. No hype just pure talent and vision.

[@contemporaryartissue]

Absolutely! Thank you for tuning in

[@ANIGIOLETTO]

I would say Odd Nerdrum could be added.

[@contemporaryartissue]

Absolutely! Thank you for tuning in

[@budyn1412]

The trend is obviously "if you can't make it good, make it big". And even the good ones have to go monumental to keep up.

[@contemporaryartissue]

Yet, they all started small! Today, they create for museum collections, hence the monumental formats. But they got there by creating smaller works first. The monumental sizes are not the cause but the effect of their success.

[@danw5760]

And failing that, try making it big AND upside down

[@batzeth]

@@danw5760 as if It was not a challenge, a meaningful search

[@alexandrayakovleva1438]

Also you have to tick the box of color, gender and race. Bias business.

[@alexandrayakovleva1438]

@@danw5760 Or inside out. Pretty sad business. But I still paint. Not to impress.

[@bigboy-r2t]

We are in trouble.

[@JamesGoodchapArt]

lol 😂

[@carlkligerman1981]

It’s not so much that we are in trouble as that the Art Establishment is entirely bereft of any new ideas and so peddles this constant stream of politically correct, sub par, ‘privileged’ examples, and that the Big Money, who have no real taste of their own, buy into this, the Sham of the New. And don’t get me wrong, the ‘revisionist’ postmodernist moment was a necessary reaction in Art History, I just think it’s become hackneyed and produced a critical apparatus that lacks imagination or any means with which to look beyond its own collective navel. There’s PLENTY of beautiful, important art still being made, only it, ironically, is now thrust outside to the margins.

[@EyeLean5280]

It'll be okay.

[@armstronghawkins9183]

If you can't get behind Nicole Eisenman and Kerry James Marshall...well....consider the source of the problem. : )

[@adamjnotthecongressmanschi7026]

@@armstronghawkins9183 for real.

[@sebber7992]

Not a lot of variation here. Artists 8 to 10 are black men painting the same subject with identical style. Artists 7 to 5 is the same as the previous three, but "white woman" variation. Artists 4 and 1 could be fused together, nobody would notice. Artist 2 is an extra naive version of the three white women. The only one with a distinct vision is Anselm Keifer.

[@contemporaryartissue]

One can indeed see some clear tendencies or sub-niches/sub-movements that have done well in contemporary figurative painting-which makes perfect sense. Yet, they have their personal merit and differences besides the similarities. As did Monet & Renoir, Braque & Picasso, Noland & Stella, et cetera. Thank you for tuning in and for sharing your thoughts!

[@aubnuwelja]

Thanks

[@liv0003]

just your personal taste nothing more than that which I completely disagree with

[@priscusQ]

A very popular and narrow view of a young person. Painting is not a sport for competition, but an individual path to knowledge

[@luizhenriquedarochaazevedo7786]

Dear Julien, thank you for another CAI video; this time highlighting contemporary figurative painters which, if I may say so, includes even you. It's good to see an analysis of these selected painters. They always present us with new horizons, new approaches that confront what I'm used to and thus shake up this emblematic area.

[@contemporaryartissue]

Thank you very much, as always. Have a great day!

[@dollycatlin5077]

Love love this video. I would like to see top 20 of each genre separately. Thank you

[@contemporaryartissue]

Hi Dolly, thank you! We in fact have been covering various genres and artistic disciplines over the years with these top lists. Feel free to discover them all on our channel!

[@Nohandlefool]

Best art= blue chip gallery, got it

[@AI-xs4fp]

May we have a top 10 Ultra-Contemporary list so it can include a more modern selection like Fratino, Toor, Saville, Ghenie, etc?

[@contemporaryartissue]

Great idea! We already have an ultra contemporary version of painting in general, but perhaps we'll have to tackle abstraction and figuration seperately as well.

[@maluribeiro68]

This video is proof of Why we don’t need A video about or even to know who are the top 10 figurative painters today, well, perhaps necessary to the person who doesn’t even know what figurative art means as shown below. There is a lot of agism in the art market to start, but it shows you can be an aging, even on the last stages of career and still be considered hip, cutting edge, relevant… What a shame is that most of the ones shown here are not relevant from an artistic point of view. They developed a formula which led them to fame and they’ve been doing it for the last 50 to 70 years, unlike Picasso or Matisse or Cezanne, etc., who struggled to innovate themselves to the very end… Why make a video about rich irrelevant artists, or spend so much time and energy to make us fit the art world, instead of being innovative and cutting through the art world, teaching them how to find authenticity and real innovation in art! Baselitz probably showing to be the most irrelevant! I am a middle-age perennial emerging artist 😂 because of many issues from lack of self belief and choices in life such as having kids, trauma in childhood didn’t Help, but I’ve myself to blame ultimately. But it is refreshing to see so many seniors considered Avant-garde basically. Conartist Tracy Emin (like Damien Hirst) sadly mentioned But what about Creating meetings between art galleries /centers to actually stop shunning, humiliating and excluding so many artists, to actually show meaningful and relevant art? You guys have the means, the influence, the funds, the locations, etc., to be able to create art crawls, week/ affordable art fairs, and publicize a new form of looking at art, well, perhaps old, but new for today, which is to search for real authenticity And real artistic research and relevance! It is so sad to see artists like Salmon Toor become formulaic as well because he’s so famous for his emerald greens that he seldom paints in any other color nowadays… But that is an artist with talent and skills… Communicating, in dialogue with artists that proceeded him, should be way more relevant than any of the 10 artist mentioned here. Or take Jennifer Packer, who makes deeply personal works and the only mold She has embraced from the contemporary art market formula is the size, but large works do come naturally to her and her style. Or take someone like Andrew Cranston… These are people who should be at the top 10 of relevance in the art world and therefore, yes, I suppose in sales and fame as well. I don’t have the talent or the skills of some of these people mentioned, but I should have my own place in the art world, it’s OK if my art would be less known or more affordable, but I should have a place, I shouldn’t be having to fight social media algorithms & commercials, there should be influential galleries scouting and giving a chance to less ‎known & unknown people. And we shouldn’t have to pay to show because galleries already take such large commissions. We could be introduced with 1 to 3 works in a group show. We should make a percentage of the second or consecutive sales of our work. I am in my style of syncretism of expressionism, cubism & outsider art, in dialogue with current artists and those who preceded me without being derivative, I have my own voice, And I am probably not alone, struggling with the challenges to get my work out there, to have financial means to continue to pursue this regardless if I am not in any particular list of 1000 relevant artists… We should be making an effort to bring the real creative struggle and authenticity to the surface in the art market and not teaching how brainwashing people on how to fit in this ridiculous, superficial brainwashing method, which customizes art buyers and collectors… It is not necessary to have sleek, minimalistic wide cubes and oversize art that will decorate only large mansions, museums and lofts, that is not the buyers or collectors taste, that was induced by the art market, by specific people who influenced such looks starting probably with usonian and British art galleries of the 50s influenced by Miserably grumpy morons like Greenberg… Perrier Would much rather have a more comfortable, homy couch to sit on, not this characterless, neutral Expressionless, hard couch to sit on… Why do human beings think that modernity and progress is sleek, minimalistic, sterile, neutral, passionless and characterless! There is no such thing as predicting the future, because the future has many faces and many phases, no, such a thing as the death of painting, or the death of theater, will always continue to do this! there will not be only dystopic Passionionless minimalistic futures, there will also be Romantic Humanistic warm and fuzzy futures… We do not hold the key or the power to control human culture and society to that extent, because we express reactionary trends and develop different kinds of looks and societies… All the way to excesses… It’s not just that we are having a revival in the last 20 years of figurative art, we are having a revival of expressionism as well and there is a reason for it… It is a reaction to Minimalism and sterility, to “philosophy” art, which is conceptual art, which is the orthodoxy today, and is not visual art in general, most of the time; and why are galleries putting at times, such as in Berlin, expressionist art in sterile environments? Actually, the contrast is nice, but unvarying, but then minimalist work would look wonderful in a baroque setting… Where is the courage to finally fight this horrendous dictatorial system of the art market And look for authenticity, the actual struggle of achieving skills and the desired outcomes, even in self-taught there’re skills, why dwell in the artist - not because they are old and dying, but because they killed themselves, they killed their spirit by trying to follow trends that you /those like you, spew and divulge, And make a real in the world of art to shine light on the true struggling artists that for one reason or another Don’t have the connections or don’t know how to cut through the wall of the cube gallery and the snobbish museum that pretends to be caring for human legacy and heritage… now that’d be so much more worthwhile!

[@dansmith4984]

Jenny Saville says hi lol

[@contemporaryartissue]

Major absentee indeed! Even in the top 20, we did not encounter Jenny Saville. Thank you for tuning in!

[@withashenafemestika9492]

Jenny Saville is one of the most important figurative painters in my opinion, ranking alongside Lucian Freud without a doubt.

[@dansmith4984]

@@withashenafemestika9492 her representations of real bodies is unique

[@gibberishboner8776]

Yep. I think his list is a bit stupid and heavily relied on internet algorithm. Saying Jenny did not even got into top 20 is just hilarious.. I mean what do you get from these social media "art gurus" 🤣 I just miss legit art critiques

[@DetGest]

This is such an under-represented topic on youtube. I would like a more personal version of this list, seeing as evaluating artists always has to be such a subjective thing. the outro section was also the more exciting segment to watch, because it was more personal.

[@contemporaryartissue]

Thank you for watching and for your take on the selection process. Sometimes, I would indeed prefer to share my personal vision instead of being merely the messenger-especially when I disagree with the results of the survey. Thank you for the most useful feedback and have a great day!

[@AmigoBrazucaq]

There are some stupid uses of algorithms out there but this takes the cake.

[@RapidBlindfolds]

Does anyone actually like the artists in this top 10 list 😂 so interesting to see the gulf in popular opinion and the actual art world

[@contemporaryartissue]

Yes, it is indeed a very interesting topic, especially the difference in taste between people active in the art world and the random beholder-a topic we briefly discuss in our video on the subjectivity of art and gatekeeping in the art world. Have a great day and thank you for tuning in!

[@damianchavez7218]

The avant garde became the establishment.

[@liv0003]

I do, not all of them obiously are my favorite but many are

[@EyeLean5280]

I like them.

[@armstronghawkins9183]

Sure! I love KJMarshall and Eisenman. And I'd give a solid thumbs-up to Thomas, Baselitz, and Katz. The only choice I'm kinda not in sync with is Kiefer...but that's mostly b/c I don't know I'd put him on a list of pivitol FIGURATIVE painters. I'd put him on a list of landscape or expressionist painters. I don't associate him with the human figure which, personally, I put more emphasis on for the label 'figurative'.

[@GFB1212]

Art is amazingly important ✨️

[@danw5760]

They are all along way behind the likes of freud and bacon

[@contemporaryartissue]

Two Greats indeed!

[@maximal1374]

Although he switched between figuration and abstraction flawlessly throughout his career, Daniel Richter should definitely be considered in this conversation. His work is truly mesmerizing.

[@MomentsGap]

Why would i want an objective measure of painters?

[@feralmode]

why would you click on the video?

[@shakeysam]

Neo Rauch

[@contemporaryartissue]

Agreed!

[@JOHNOGRADY-un2ft]

Beautifully sculptured post,much thanks

[@martinlakeuk]

How can anyone do a top 10 figurative painters list without including Odd Nerdrum? Absolutely insane!

[@contemporaryartissue]

A true painter's painter indeed!

[@stevechmilar1215]

Judging by the curve of this trend, artists like myself will be appreciated by the contemporary art world by 2039.

[@YTuseraL2694]

Yeah, I am obliged to agree with comments here so far, apart from Baselitz, Kiefer and maaaybe Wiley, I'm simply... Utterly unimpressed by these people's works. The likes of Odd Nerdrum, Sebastian Schrader, Jenny Saville, Glenn Brown, Guillermo Lorca Garcia, Jerome Witkin and many more blow these people out of the water in my opinion.

[@contemporaryartissue]

Personally, I prefer the your artists you mention over half of the top 10. So I guess we are on the same page here. Thank you for tuning in and for sharing your thoughts 🙏

[@carlkligerman1981]

Hear hear!

[@friedricengravy6646]

Jenny Saville? Daniel Sprick? Vincent Desiderio? Odd Nerdrum?? Wendy Artin??

[@tueferbenz7492]

Made me think about who my favorites are. Peter Booth, Jenny Saville, Julie Heffernan.

[@whydidyoupaintme2196]

>> Tal R // Daniel Richter // Marek Eibert // Britta Wagner // Allison Schulnik // Kristina Schuldt // Kim Dorland // Iulian Bisericaru // Christoph Ruckhäberle // Tilo Baumgärtel

[@patriciawilliams7419]

Peter Doig should be in top ten

[@contemporaryartissue]

I agree!

[@JG-ly2ij]

Dear CAI, I really don’t know how you put Anselm Kiefer in, he does two figures and you only showed one. I don’t understand why you left William Kentridge out. I see him as primarily figurative, his figurative work informs mine deeply, someone here said hello Jenny Saville ;)

[@JG-ly2ij]

*few figures, mostly monumental landscapes

[@contemporaryartissue]

There is, of course, a difference between figurative painting and figure painting. Anselm Kiefer is not a figure painter, but he is a figurative painter, as he predominantly depicts interiors, landscapes, buildings, still lifes, et cetera. Concerning William Kentridge-this is something I addressed at the start of the video-as he predominantly works with ink on paper or in printmaking, we cannot really classify him as a painter. For Jenny Saville, she is indeed a major absentee and was not even in the top 20 to my surprise. Thank you for watching!

[@hblavaski]

We need a Top 10 of sculpture, figurative or not 🗻 there are really interesting and critical sculpture artists trying to bend limits of form, space and matter in very beautiful ways.

[@mbahbytekobo]

You can ask for something with more respect and consideration. This is a work of its own and you consume it freely. So please, be more subtle.

[@hblavaski]

@@mbahbytekobo I don't believe I was unrespectful, only maybe informal 🤷‍♀️ I'm sure dear CAI did not feel offended, demanded or anything. People these days love fighting on the internet for exactly nothing. It's your ego, not mine, not anyone else's. Sorry! Have a good day 🙂

[@hblavaski]

Also, for anyone on the sculpture line, I saw he already has a great compilation on that 👍🏼🔥 Thanks, CAI! kzbin.info/www/bejne/lWHJqniqpbOUiKssi=61tw8UyJ7ll6-0m7

[@contemporaryartissue]

Hi there, thank you for tuning in. Happy to see that you have found our top list of sculpture. Perhaps we can make a new one focusing on figurative sculpture in the foreseeable future. I'll do my very best! Have a great day!

[@hblavaski]

@@contemporaryartissuethanks so much for considering it! I really appreciate it! You're work is priceless 🙏🏼🔥

[@TheNopeDude]

Excuse me John Currin, Neo Rauch, Bo Bartlett, Michael Borremans, Jenny Saville, ??

[@EnriqueCollar]

Your work is always very professional. But it happens to me that every time I look at your selections again, I don't find any surprises. All the artists you choose are the same as always, from the same top galleries as always. I don't see any risk. There is more music in this world, in other languages ​​and cultures. Thanks.

[@LewisButlerChapman]

What metrics does the algorithm use to determine this hierarchy?

[@tessabergamot6961]

I will do a search but might you have already done a video on the most prominent styles within the contemporary world that current artists are leaning towards? Thanks for all this content Julien. Appreciate your responses too.

[@dollycatlin5077]

Definitely think size matterS. And the trend is big big big.

[@contemporaryartissue]

The monumental sizes are not the cause but the effect of their success. They started creating normal-sized work for private collectors and are today creating monumental works for the big museum institutions-hence the monumental sizes.

[@janetatuniquerawfoods2361]

Hi Julién and Perrier. Happy Monday. I appreciate the discernments you make around the criteria… with the additional artists you mention it provides human dimension to the list. Are you willing to discern figurative please? If a painting has… say … a color field abstract… however within that field there is a recognizable little bottle painted… does that make it to this category ? Or figurative is referring to human form only? That distinction can help me know who I like… and sound Art World intelligent😇✨…😹 Thank you for all the insights your time and work. Sincerely, Janet

[@contemporaryartissue]

Hi Janet, I hope you are doing well. Figure painting requires the human form only. Figurative painting refers to painting that is representational or derived from the world around us; it can be cartoonish, expressive, or include abstract elements, such as a color field plane. The pleasure is all mine, as always, and I wish you a great Monday too!

[@janetatuniquerawfoods2361]

⁠@@contemporaryartissueSpectacular delineation in a tiny comments space… thank you again…Amy Steel has interesting figure pieces I find… I agree with you about the last artist you personally admire.☀️

[@janetatuniquerawfoods2361]

And… I am glad to have encountered CAI and your own works … Salut…

[@AdrianDrott]

My personal favorite who has similarities to Nicole Eisenman in style is Salman Toor. Maybe not known enough to make the cut on this list.

[@albatrozdeashgabat5427]

Thanks for your content is always interesting, please consider talking about naive paintings and artists nowadays✌🏻

[@contemporaryartissue]

Great suggestion, thank you! 🙏🙌

[@Evaaugustine97]

My top 1 is definitely NADIA WAHEED! thanks for the interesting video

[@JustinStansfield-v6u]

The dog has the right idea

[@ignaciohernandez8901]

Although he was mentioned at the end, I think Michaël Borremans is one of the best today.

[@ArtworksByEden]

Hello fellow creatures 😊 I'm having a hard time classifying my art...all I've been told is that I have a very different style/that they've never seen my style before?? So then that's not helpful for classifying it lols...any tips?? 😢😅😊❤ Peace and Love

[@Carl-x8y3c]

Your dog is cute. On the couch snuggled up.

[@pgmisha]

"a reasoned ontology" using an algorithm? You're killing me.😅

[@contemporaryartissue]

Otherwise, it would be a personal or subjective anthology ;-) Nevertheless, thank you for tuning in!

[@ajtaylor6505]

i get that you will not get everyone's favourite in but I never thought of Anselm Keifer as a figurative painter. I'll have to go back and listen to the set up. Someone like Eric Fischl now thats a figurative artist to me. I like your channel.

[@contemporaryartissue]

Eric Fischl was part of the top 20, in fact, and I can definitely see why one would argue Kiefer not being 'figurative' enough. Personally, considering his subjects, I do see Kiefer as figurative enough for this list, but it is definitely debatable. Thank you for tuning in, and I wish you a great day!

[@williamericson5208]

Nadia Waheed should definitely be in the top 10, holy cow

[@kimwilkie9819]

Yes, surprised Thant Cecily Brown was not mentioned.

[@DomTradr]

Love the videos. Video suggestion / a question not related to the video. How many artworks would you say a gallery represented artist makes a year. You mentioned the galleries like to have supply and demand in their favor. How does that impact the artists career output with those constraints?

[@contemporaryartissue]

In most cases, the amount of artworks will be determined by the demand and also the amount of shows the artist has-with and beyond their gallery/ies. I would say an advanced emerging artist produces between 25 to 50 works, and a mid-career or established artist produces between 50-150 works depending on the demand, exhibitions, and the nature of the work (artistic discipline, production process, etc.)

[@1deplatt]

Maybe Jenny Saville?

[@contemporaryartissue]

Absolutely, a major absentee!

[@tueferbenz7492]

One of the best living artists for sure.

[@ediesedgwick4462]

The only artist here whom I consider to be properly figurative is Kehinde Wiley, because I don't see how a work can be figurative if it isn't also realist. The rest of the artists are showing us abstractions, either deliberately or through a lack of technical skill. And no abstraction can be figurative, because no figure looks like an abstraction.

[@contemporaryartissue]

I believe realist, naturalistic, or representational painting is a more accurate description for the art you refer to. Mimesis is replicating reality, figurative can be derived from reality. And I personally definitely prefer the latter. Thank you for tuning in and for sharing your thoughts! Have a great day

[@ediesedgwick4462]

@@contemporaryartissue Yes, I should've said representational, rather than realist. Thanx for the suggestion! 👍🏻

[@JG-ly2ij]

Every artwork is an abstraction of the world we see around us, even photographs. Abstraction is simply a reduction in information. All of the artists here are representing the figure, I don’t really know where you’re coming from.

[@ITcanB]

I'm curious how you feel about the fact that he uses a projector and a photograph, tracing the image onto the canvas. Would you consider that cheating? ❤

[@ediesedgwick4462]

@@ITcanB I didn't know that. And, yes, I would.

[@MoneyBook-x6s]

This is a grat video, thank you

[@joemug4079]

Does Jenny Saville fit in that category?

[@lauriewarner4848]

Great post. Interesting list, well thought out and researched. I am going to be simple here. Thank you for the share.

[@penelopekillingbeck8767]

I’d nominate Kaye Donachie

[@contemporaryartissue]

Absolutely! Great painter, love her work

[@davidhunternyc1]

The last I checked, David Hockney was still alive. Also, some of the artists here evoke a psychic existentialism that knocks on the door of Francis Bacon but, as usual, reinforce his supremacy. Still, like Charlie Brown kicking a football, artists keep trying. There was a painting, however, I saw a few years back which countered Bacon in its own seedy, revulsive way, Eric Fischl's, “Late American” 2016. I went numb and almost vomitted. Fischl can sometimes be uneven but most artists are. When Fischl lands a punch, however, he hits hard. By and large, the best figurative painters in the West are European. How do we match Sigmar Polke? It's always been this way and still is. Fine. Roast me. I've lived a long enough life not to care. The U.S.does have a figurative painter that equals artists in Europe, Mark Tansey. His work is highly discursive and may feel cold and distant at first but once you crack his allegorical code, he turns art history and the human condition into molten lava. Finally, my favorite figurative painter alive today is Neo Rauch. Rarely does he miss his mark and his ability to create a narrative and shut it down simultaneously confounds perception and meaning. Assimilation is impossible. Rauch is that singular painter living on a parallel plane inaccessible to the rest of us. Everyone else is just an illustrator. Also. ..does anyone talk about Schnabel anymore?

[@spacepunk_nappy]

Dawn Okoro from Texas and Patrick Dougher from Brooklyn

[@contemporaryartissue]

Thank you for the suggestions!

[@GiantArtProductions]

This list is so-so but I don’t know why people are dumping on Justin Mortimer, he’s basically a visionary given how much his subject matter relates so much to the events of the previous 3 years during clownvid. Wiley is a hack though.

[@paulrizvi8985]

And so, how many people have actually bought the website design package?

[@monicalopezpinzonart]

I would like to add Santiago Cárdenas 🇨🇴

[@loribeardsley878]

I love many of those choices and found some new ones, but surely you forgot Chantel Joffe

[@contemporaryartissue]

Love Chantal Joffe! Sadly, we did not forget her but she was simply not ranking in the top 10 (and even 20) results of this survey. Thank you for tuning in!

[@dnavid]

I've never seen a figure painted by Kiefer and you didn't show any either. Rauch's paintings are full of figures.

[@vinny8749]

Anatomy or modeling not once

[@johnpresnell]

I realize you used some kind of system to come up with your list. Okay, fair enough, and I like a lot of the artists here, although I would’ve preferred to see Markus Lüpertz, Neo Rauch, Henry Taylor, and Peter Doig here.

[@contemporaryartissue]

A great recital of artists; thank you for your contribution here in the comments. Have a great day and thank you for watching!

[@user-ji4rc2ou1l]

The dog ❤

[@Vampfire511]

How is Anselm Kiefer a figurative artist??? His paintings have figures as elements, but it’s not about figures. Like if landscape is used as the background of a portrait, you won’t call that painter a landscape painter.

[@liv0003]

Yes , definitely he's a figurative painter!

[@elsewheremusic1815]

You're confusing figurative and figure painters ; a figurative painter is simply a painter who depicts elements that come from reality, as opposed to an abstract painter. Therefore, a figurative painter doesn't necessarily represent figures, he can also make landscapes, interiors or still-life paintings

[@solstice824]

Jenny Saville??????? Salman Toor??????😵

[@contemporaryartissue]

Major absentees indeed!

[@ZadenZane]

Tracey Emin as a figurative painter? I don't think so. I don't think I've ever seen a traditional figurative painting by her. I'm counting the mainstream of modern añd contemporary art as "traditional" here. Yes she does scribbly black gouache pieces on giant canvases, but most of the backgrounds appear to be raw white gesso. To me that's drawing with a paintbrush and not a "true" painting at all!

[@contemporaryartissue]

Her latest works are acrylic on canvas, depicting figures in a-indeed-drawing-like visual language. But the work fits the definition of painting more than it does drawing. The artistic discipline is determined by the material attributes, not the visual language.

[@susand484]

@@contemporaryartissue Tracy A And it's impossible to "draw" that big, which speaks to the skill of using a paintbrush that way. The "line" in a small drawing is masterful or not. Done at that scale on a large canvas, spontaneously, is unbelievable.( I don't believe she is using an eight foot long paintbrush...). It's as if she is the brush and has eyes observing from 10ft back, with her paintbrush making the figure(s) with those long expressive continuous beautiful lines.

[@garjog1]

Julien we would like to hear your top ten.

[@davidwilson1273]

Ok…this is a woke joke.i have to believe this bullshit is just some twisted joke.

[@vandolmatzis8146]

your correct pronuctiation

[@charlesbrowning_art]

I'm unclear how Kiefer qualifies as figurative

[@contemporaryartissue]

Debatable indeed-yet, considering his subjects (landscapes, interiors, still lifes, etc.) classifying him as too abstract is also inaccurate. Thank you for tuning in!

[@vigensayadyan3681]

I am also a contemporary figurative artist, but I will never be so famous, since I live in a small country (Armenia) and it is impossible to get into such a large art market :)

[@danw5760]

Internet

[@contemporaryartissue]

It is possible, regardless of where you are based! Feel free to watch our video 'No Art City, No Problem' for more information.

[@armstronghawkins9183]

I thought Hockney was still painting. I know he was doing a lot of digital work/drawings 2010-2016? ...but I thought he was still painting post pandemic.

[@lelandleichman]

frank auerbach

[@contemporaryartissue]

Great artist indeed!

[@carlkligerman1981]

Criminal omission

[@dv-artistdavidv.828]

Its time for a change!

[@EleanorHart-x6p]

Wow!

[@TheKobytan]

What painting is on the thumbnail?

[@contemporaryartissue]

The thumbnail is a detail of a painting by Miriam Cahn; Miriam Cahn, meredith grey (gestern im TV gesehen), 2015. Oil on wood, 26 x 28 cm. Thank you for tuning in!

[@TheKobytan]

Appreciate it!

[@markharmon3112]

Robbie Espinoza and Nimfa Torres

[@selwynr]

The first two seem tokenistic - Wiley is just terrible. It's kitsch with a capital K. The other artist's work has no pictorial energy or intensity. Marshall is a great artist, period. Eisenman a solid choice, an eclectic, wild and very gifted artist indeed. Dumas perhaps a little overrated. Some of her work is slapdash and wobbly but at it's best it is confronting and powerful, nightmarish. Cahn is authentic, playing off a certain technical naivety with an intense and moving visionary and poetic sensibility, Leiko Ikemura's work is poetic, charming and lyrical, perhaps in a minor mode, but almost impossible to dislike. Keifer is Keifer, what to say except a permanent acheivement, Katz is highly accomplished and his work is here to stay, yet it is like Cole Porter, not remotely profound but breezily enjoyable, if a little on the 'white priviledged' side, if you dig my meaning, Baselitz is long past his best work. He churns out respectable international art now for 'discerning' corporate buyers, but he was once a profound and disurbingly dark visionary, now a whimper compared to the visceral power of his early nightmares - he's become a kind of corporate Neo-Expressionist Warhol that discerning vulture capitalists fawn over - ahem, sorry, I mean 'art collectors'. His earlier self would roll in the grave. No Rauch, no Dana Schutz (much better artist than several here), no Peter Booth (Australia's greatest living artist and dark, comically grotesque visionary, and a shoo-in for one of the great living masters), no Daniel Richter (a techno-visionary, spectral master at his best), no Peter Saul (incomparably better than half the artists here, perhaps teh greatest living satirical painter and an absolute living classic, ferocious comic glee), no Doig (uneven but very good at times, esp. when he goes more spectral), no William Kentridge (why?!!!!), No Liu Xiodong (perhaps the greatest living figurative artist in the traditional sense - today's Manet - a humanist genius, no doubt of it and oh so much better than all but 2 or 3 of these)? Oh well, these things are subjective... to a degree, haha. Still, I do love your videos, even when, or maybe especially when, I disagree with them :-)

[@contemporaryartissue]

Thank you for sharing your most interesting thoughts. I must say I (almost) completely agree with your assessment of this top 10. Kentridge is not included due to primarily working on paper or in printmaking. I would add to my personal top 10 Luc Tuymans, Michaël Borremans, Neo Rauch, Dana Schutz, Lisa Yuskavage, and perhaps even Louise Giovanelli, whom I have been enjoying a lot lately. Thank you for following the channel and feel free to disagree with our list at any time-I even encourage it ;-) Have a great day!

[@liv0003]

Your entire list is purely subjective

[@carlkligerman1981]

Jennifer Packer is another omission that mystifies me. And she can actually, you know, paint!

[@garyspencer6854]

Kitsch is practically a dead term. It harks back to a time when Modernity was pure and Greenberg was God. Trying to use modernist notions of kitsch as a way of dismissing contemporary strategies in painting doesn't work any more. Greenberg would have easily called Liu Xiodong kitsch too. It's worth remembering that Wiley - and his huge success- is very much a reflection of a todays changing world and changing values - so he's important if you think art mirrors life and society.

[@pejamane]

Lovely video, thank you for sharing!

[@contemporaryartissue]

Thank you so much for your kind words, the pleasure is all mine!

[@_mixedsignals]

I worry that A.I. will encroach on figurative painting more than any other artistic practice, and will eat into painters who focus on the figure and dilute the value of their work.

[@contemporaryartissue]

In the end, AI will just become part of the painters' toolbox, similar to photography, the projector, photoshop, et cetera. AI needs human input, and a painting requires the human touch of a painter. But evidently, you're right. This will be most apparent or noticeable in figurative painting.

[@iamahugeapple]

Cecily Brown!

[@evgenygrouzdev7575]

Bard!

[@YTuseraL2694]

Francois Bard? Oh yeah, he's excellent.

[@contemporaryartissue]

Great painter indeed!

[@hmmmmidk]

thank you

[@lauraleesimons1966]

I’m surprised that Kiefer is on this list of top figurative painters. I love his work however I wouldn’t consider him a figurative painter.

[@timeenoughforart]

What no Thomas Kinkade? Apparently nobody asked my sister in law. Her house is covered with him.

[@antondavidovic3996]

George Condo would be an honorable mention

[@mitorresc]

These are known artists already, from a while ago

[@apanhadordearrepios]

also dana schutz

[@contemporaryartissue]

Yes!!

[@karlrudziak5124]

Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Jenny Saville???

[@contemporaryartissue]

Two major absentees indeed!

[@chrisduffyart]

No David Sallie?

[@AzucenaMerkel]

forgot Adam Miller probably the best

[@artistparis]

David Hockney?

[@djiango_artist]

you forgot Djiango artist :)

[@frankblangeard8865]

Lots of geezers in this list. I identify!

[@saradosiggi5287]

What about Neo Rauch?

[@contemporaryartissue]

Yes, a major absentee as I point out in the epilogue of the video. Thank you for tuning in!

[@jonathanpinkett5439]

colleen Barry Jordon Sokol Will St.John Cesar Santos Calida Gracia Adrian Gottlieb Amaya Gurpide Just sayin'