Art world trends round up: 2023

As we bid farewell to 2023, it’s time to take a step back and reflect on the creative journey that the art world has embarked on over the past twelve months. This year, 1,095 galleries exhibited across 14 Affordable Art Fairs, so we got to see a lot of art! Certain styles and themes have definitely taken centre stage or risen in popularity, coinciding with global changes and trends.

This roundup will not only highlight the pivotal movements of the past year, but also offer a glimpse into what could shape the art scene in 2024. Whilst art is always a timeless investment, looking back at what’s been popular can help inform and inspire your future visits to an art fair.

Materiality

Artworks with an element of tactility have proved hugely popular, owing to the sense of fun and immersion that materiality can have when introduced or built upon within a home art collection. After watching the rise and fall of the NFT, people seem to want the visual narratives that can be formed from more textural, palpable works.

When combined with ambiguous text, such as in Quinn Seljak’s ‘5 things you should keep your mouth shut about’ crochet piece, stories and meaning can be woven by the onlooker. These artworks not only stimulate our creative brains, but inspire touch and sensation in a way that has provoked a rejection of digital-first art in 2023. Vanessa Valero’s tufted ‘Topography’ offers something different for a blank wall in any home; a quality that encourages you to reach out and experience the piece tangibly, rather than just observing.

Textile art, from huge tapestries to detailed embroidery, has dominated within the space of materiality. Tarien Bruwer is an example of an artist who creates visual explorations of pattern and colour through the use of textiles. Woven from thread, her work is intended as a reminder to take a break from rushed ways of living, and the intricacy of her work chimes with a key 2023 propensity towards slow living. Our fairs are the perfect opportunity to pause and reflect on 1,000s of artworks in one space, so long may this continue in 2024 as we welcome art enthusiasts from all over the world.  

Urban art

We’ve seen more street art at our fairs than perhaps ever before in 2023. In Amsterdam, we even had a whole spotlight section to showcase the best of urban art from The Netherlands and beyond. Bright, bold and often heaped with humour, artworks within the urban art genre have been speaking to visitors everywhere.

Often highlighting political, environmental or societal issues, urban art has really taken off as it becomes increasingly legitimised in fine art and creative spheres. For the maximalist collector, this is great news.

Originally a street artist, Fredrik Erichsen moved his practice to the studio to begin work creating his iconic concrete smileys. Filled with a sense of excitement, the bright, gloopy yellow is reminiscent of carefree emojis and easily brings a smile to your face.  

Text plays an important role in urban art and the paintings of Luke Abdallah are great examples of this. His work often takes a softer, less obvious approach to urban art, but ‘Rough Surface’ feels more literal. Born totally blind and living with elective mutism, Abdallah’s attention to multi-sensory features suits the founding elements of urban art. Playing on the words of the well-recognised road sign, the textural additions (paint splatters, beading, gravel) highlight the implicit in an explicit way.  

Seeking hope

More and more people are gravitating towards artwork that sparks a sense of hope and optimism. Amidst the uncertainty and challenges of modern life, we’re often seeking solace in visual expressions of resilience, positivity, and potential. We’re always talking about that feeling of falling in love with art, and this trend goes beyond aesthetics or investment considerations; it’s about connecting with pieces that we love. These artworks often feature uplifting colours, inspiring subjects, or abstract designs that stimulate a positive emotional response.  

It’s hard to believe that Egon Digon’s sculptures are made from wood meticulously crafted by hand as the finished piece more resembles soft rubber or sponge. His artworks are a symbol of the times we live in, where we might feel confined within systems or situations that we’d prefer to avoid. He expresses this longed-for freedom through his bulging sculptures that tend to suggest a message of positivity: that there is hope we might be liberated from any constraints upon us individually, or as a whole.

Pushing ceramic boundaries

The realm of ceramics has seen a dynamic shift as artists continue to push the boundaries of this ancient medium.

Rejecting the traditional square canvas, Chris Rijk moved his painting skills to pottery for the freedom this medium offers. Self-described as an ‘artist pretending to be a potter’, whilst Rijk’s might look traditional at first glance, on closer inspection you can see that they’re anything but. He sees his pots as a means to portray painterly imagery with only the slightest not to ancient shapes. This subversion of tradition keeps contemporary ceramics fresh and future-proof.

Australian artist, Jessica Smith, similarly juxtaposes ancient methods with alternative experimentation. Addressing modern day issues of sustainability, her wobbly forms leave a lasting impression as they feel uncannily deep-rooted in ceramic tradition whilst also fresh and new.  

We expect to see plenty more ceramics, alongside our other favourite trends from the past year, surfacing in 2024. Make sure to catch us at your local fair to be inspired by what art world trends the New Year has to offer. See you there!

Main image: Oli-B, ‘around you’, 2023, 120x120cm, ART-Gallery.be