5 contemporary artists that are defining the future of "Pop Art"

/

“Pop Art” can be a hard term to define. It’s one of those “I know it when I see it” things.

The quickest definition of “Pop Art” is that it’s popular art. It’s the art that is considered chic by the most current standards of the highly discerning art class. Something about pop art has to feel inherently cool.

There is also an aesthetic through line to Pop Art— recurring visual elements that we can catalogue and inventory if we really want to lock down what is and isn’t “Pop Art”.

  • Eye catching aesthetics featuring bold colors and strong lines

  • Pop culture iconography

  • Cross disciplinary work that frequently incorporates illustration, graffiti, screen printing, and sculpture

  • Humor, sarcasm, irony

If you wanted to make a rough timeline of the biggest figures in Pop Art since the style emerged in the late 1950’s, it might go something like this: Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring, Banksy, Shepherd Fairey, Takashi Murakami.

Here are 5 current artists who are defining the future of Pop Art right now:

Alec Monopoly

Alec Monopoly is at the forefront of the Miami/LA ultra-luxury aesthetic that dominates Pop Art in the age of Instagram. Alec Monopoly wasn’t the first person to repurpose the Monopoly Man for hyper-capitalist commentary, and he doesn’t break any ground with technique or style. Nevertheless, he defines the artist as influencer, steadily growing his art into his own luxury brand.

David Choe

David Choe embodies all of the aesthetics and lore of the Pop Artist. His work is a frenetic melee of colors, styles, and storytelling. He has the eternal legacy of being one of the first artists to cash in a massive payday off the tech revolution.

Pop Art has never been confined to canvas and David Choe explores the boundaries of his art with The Choe Show.

Ron English

Ron English creates surreal illustrations that are heavy in ironic commentary and put modern pop culture icons in subversive and often disturbing context. He’s a personal favorite of mine.

Beeple

Beeple might be the most relevant artist of his generation. He is prolific as a creator, turning out a unique work of digital art daily for more than 10 years. His art is transgressive, antagonistic, shocking. He worked on his craft like a monk, but he also kept his finger on the pulse of an evolving art world. For many people, the first time they heard of NFTs was when Beeple sold one for $69 million.

Lushsux

Lushsux is a grafiti artist from Australia who regularly goes viral on instagram for his subversive caricatures and satire, which tends to be broadly targeted at internet personalities and authoritarian political figures . Similar to Beeple, Lushsux has cashed in on NFTs after toiling diligently on his art for years.