I have to admit that I do not like most of what is called modern art. But I would like to find a couple of living artists whose work I enjoy. How should I go about finding them?
What sort of things do you like?
I tend to like art that has a strong pop-culture influence. For finding stuff like that, Juxtapozis a great source.
It can be very frustrating trying to find artworks that you like. You should start by going to all the art galleries you can find down there, then come on up to Phoenix, or more specifically, downtown Scottsdale. There is a whole bunch of galleries there.
If you don’t see any paintings you like, you can also ask the gallery owner if he has pictures of any other works, as they can’t display all the works of all the artists they represent.
You can also visit the art museums and ask if they have any works by current artists. There are also, from time to time, exhibits set up of current work, so watch the newspaper for stories about those.
There are, unfortunately, a vast number of very good artists in this country who never get their works displayed in galleries. How one finds them I don’t know, but sometimes there are associations of local artists who display their own works, but not always to the public.
I find that I usually hate 99 percent of the stuff in galleries, but if you keep going, you may get lucky and find something in that other one percent that you like. Also, galleries frequently change exhibits, so keep looking.
Finally, if you travel at all, visit galleries in other cities. i find that there are some really wonderful works in the many galleries in Santa Fe.
As others have said, 99% of contemporary art is really bad. But the 1% that I like will undoubtedly be different from the 1% that you like. So the only choice is to keep looking until you find whatever it is that appeals to you.
My wife was an art major in college, years ago, so we go to galleries all the time. I’ve seen lots of art, both good and bad.
Ed
Many artists now post pictures of their work for sale on sites like this one. Cutting out the middle man, the gallery, makes the art much cheaper. The site has a feature much like Amazon, “if you like this, check out this, too”.
Your question sort of reminds me of the conversation:
“Hey, what’s that song?”
“It’s Stardust.”
“Oh, good, that’s my favorite song.”
Why do you want to find contemporary art that you like? Why not try to find art that you like? Unless you’re looking for investment’s sake, you should certainly start with the most basic of elements - do you like it? Then, if it turns out that it’s been created in the last 10-80 years, say, you have achieved both goals. Without starting a hijack on what is art?, I’d suggest that if you can find art that interests you, moves you, attracts you, then you have the starting point you need. Not “contemporary,” but “art.”
Thank you. That looks helpful.
Ohh! I already found one that I like from Maastricht’s link. Yeah!
You could go to the library or bookstore and look at art magazines. Thats usually what I do.