Articles & Alerts
Ideas for Finding New and Emerging Artists
An art collector or an investor may already have trusted resources for finding new and emerging artists – perhaps some favorite galleries and gallerists whose expertise they trust, in addition to their own. Still, half the fun of finding new talent is the search itself. Here are some additional sources for consideration for those who are interested in emerging artists.
Many artists regularly post their work on this visually oriented social media platform. Refining hashtag usage by searching for topics like #CollectibleArt can help in identifying work that matches particular interests. Once you identify some candidates, consider researching each artist further. Their resume may reveal their training and where they’ve exhibited. Exhibitions will reveal the degree to which others in the art world are beginning to recognize their talent.
MFA exhibitions
If you’re willing to consider artists early in their career, exhibitions put on by recent graduates of Masters of Fine Art programs may help you uncover exceptional talents before their pieces gain the attention of wider audiences. The Yale School of Art, the Rhode Island School of Design, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Maryland Institute College of Art are reputable MFA programs for painters, for example, but there are many incredible programs for artists in all media across the country.
Artist-in-residence programs
Museums, universities and nonprofit organizations provide opportunities for artists to focus on their work. Viewing the exhibitions offered during these residencies can be a great way to discover artists who are often in the earlier stages of their careers, before they become the darlings of major gallerists and collectors. The Studio Museum in Harlem and the outdoor sculpture park, Art Omi in Ghent, New York, are just two examples of organizations whose residency programs have nurtured emerging artists.
Reviews of exhibitions
Reviews of non-major shows, like the roundups offered in publications like Art & Object, may help you uncover artists before their work begins to demand higher prices.
Art fairs
While you may already attend some major fairs, like Art Basel, expanding your horizons may help you discover more emerging talents. To search online for fairs that align with your interests, you can start by investigating the likes of the Armory Show in New York, the Frieze Art Fairs in New York and London, or fairs and events held during Miami Art Week in early December.
Once you begin to identify some artists you like, many artists may welcome the opportunity for you to observe them at work in their studios. Seeing how they create pieces in the medium they prefer may increase the connection you feel to their work.
Enjoy the search
In addition to the financial rewards that can be realized by discovering artists before the value of their work increases, there is also a personal satisfaction to be gained from being in that select group that recognizes someone’s talents early. The search can be exhilarating, and while Anchin’s Art Group does not make investment recommendations, the team is available to help collectors in a variety of ways.
For more information or to discuss planning related to your art collection, contact your Anchin Relationship Partner or Tara Burek and Michael Belfer, Leaders of Anchin’s Art Specialty Group.
