The Artnet Gallery Network is the premier resource to shop for art, allowing you to easily browse galleries, discover artists, or even search by movement or style—all in one place. Whether looking up a favorite gallery to see what’s on or crafting your own list of artists to follow, the Artnet Gallery Network makes building your collection a cinch.
Because we are constantly working with and seeing new art artists, we here at the Artnet Gallery Network select five artists every month to highlight that we are sure to be following closely. For our June roundup, the artists are incredibly diverse, hailing from China to Canada, with practices that range from the conceptual to the figurative.
February James at Tilton Gallery
February James, (2023). Courtesy of Tilton Gallery, New York.
Based in Los Angeles, artist February James produces work that is largely figurative, however, instead of focusing on purely representational elements, the artist focuses on the psychological and emotional aspects of her figures. James’s exhibition “Gap Year,” on view at Tilton Gallery, New York, through June 30, 2023, features a range of mediums, including paintings, watercolors, and installations. Using the concept of a gap year—a year-long break from school or work—the show aims to be a place of respite where viewers can reflect and engage with their inner self and personal histories.
Diana Thorneycroft at Madrona Gallery
Diana Thorneycroft, (Panel 24/24) (2023). Courtesy of Madrona Gallery, Victoria, BC.
Winnipeg-based artist Diana Thorneycroft is widely recognized for her use of dark humor, examinations of identity, and engagement with social and cultural themes in her multimedia practice—ranging from photography to drawing. Thorneycroft’s present eponymous solo exhibition at Madrona Gallery, Victoria, open through June 24, 2023, is comprised of the artist’s intricate drawings that take inspiration from recent world events. The often-fraught compositions invite the viewer to examine the impact of events on the every day, both from both a personal and collective standpoint.
Lia Kazakou at Beck & Eggeling International Fine Art
Lia Kazakou, (2022). Courtesy of Beck & Eggeling International Fine Art, Düsseldorf.
Greek artist Lia Kazakou has an artistic practice centered on the human body, and, more specifically, the materiality and clothes that are worn. Initially inspired by her mother’s work as a tailor, Kazakou’s painting frequently shows the cropped depiction of what an individual is wearing, namely the necklines and the front of the torso. The precise rendering of fabrics and the way they are affected by the wearer lend themselves to deeper engagements with and reflections on the emotive and psychological effects of garments as they relate to the body.
Lu Luo at Galerie Martina Kaiser
Lu Luo, (2022). Courtesy of Galerie Martina Kaiser, Cologne.
Lu Luo, who lives and works in Ticino, China, draws inspiration from traditional Chinese textiles and garments, employing them on canvas works as a means of expressing ideas around identity, self-expression, and conceptual dichotomies like light and dark. This inspiration is rooted in her personal history, as she grew up in close proximity to the Chinese opera, known for its extravagant and intricate costumes. “Bricolage,” the artist’s solo show at Galerie Martina Kaiser, Cologne, on view through July 1, 2023, features her multimedia work that engages with formal interrogations of texture and materials as well as offers a form of narrative achieved through medium-specific means.
Fabrice Samyn at Sies + Höke Galerie
Fabrice Samyn, (2023). Courtesy of Sies + Höke Galerie, Düsseldorf.
Fabrice Samyn’s conceptual practice employs a diverse range of mediums to explore issues around representation—namely the boundaries between what is seen and what is felt. Described as poetic and metaphysical, the artist uses both contemporary and historical techniques in his work, touching on themes and ideas of time, the spiritual, and the sensory. His recent solo with the Royal Museums of Fine Arts in Brussels saw Samyn create a dialogue between his own contemporary practice and the art historical masterpieces of the museum; meanwhile, his solo show with Sies + Höke Galerie, Düsseldorf, earlier this month presented a new body of painting as well as introduced the artist’s future choreographed regenerative gardens.
