CrazyLeaf Editorial As the 20th-Century German artist, Joseph Beuys, said, “every man [and woman] is an artist”.
Humans throughout the ages have made use of different mediums to display their art. The social media website Instagram is the latest medium to take the art world by storm.
Artists around the world are making use of the platform to display their latest artworks. Whether they’re photographers, illustrators, painters or sculptors, many artists are realizing the potential of Instagram to promote their works and develop a following.
Even art-skeptics could probably do with a change from looking at a former school friends smashed avocado on toast breakfast once in a while. But as an art lover and aesthetic enthusiast, how can you possibly follow every artist on Instagram.
We’ve put this list of the 10 best artists on Instagram together so that you can only follow the truly great artists plying their trade on Insta. Let’s take a look!
1. Ai Weiwei / @aiww
There is no better place to start in a list of the best artists on Instagram than the notorious Chinese artist and political agitator, Ai Weiwei. He is already a household name among art lovers.
The versatile artist displays portraits of all sorts of people from famous political figures and his members of his family to people on the streets of Beijing and many ‘selfies’ of himself. Instagram is certainly a tool for Ai Weiwei to push the limits of free speech in his home country and demonstrate the power of the platform for social change.
2. Gary Baseman / @garybaseman
Based in the Los Angeles, the American artist, Gary Baseman uses Instagram to promote his unfinished and completed paintings and animations. Instagram followers also get insights into the everyday life of the artist, such as snaps of the meetings between other collaborators and working hard in the art studio.
Baseman is definitely one to follow for an injection of joy and color into your mornings flicking through your Instagram feed.
3. Olek / @oleknyc
According to the Polish-American, Agata Oleksiak, or Olek, as she is known, the goal of her art is “to produce new work and share it with the public”. Instagram is a key pillar in achieving this goal.
Inspired by the hustle and bustle of New York City, Olek’s works include installations, sculptures and performance pieces. Her Instagram profile offers followers a window into the process of creating one of her famous crocheted works.
4. Jose Parla / @joseparla
Jose Parla is another American artist whose work is deeply connected to the City of New York. Parla creates calligraphy and installations. According to him, his primary interest is in “the way our lives are built up out of memory and history”.
His Instagram profile depicts him at work in his studio and the influence of the chaos of the Big Apple on his works, especially the Graffiti and street art around Brooklyn.
5. Toyin Odutola / @toyinojihodutola
The next featured artist on our list of the best artists on Instagram goes to the Nigerian-born visual artist Toyin Odutola.
Her beautiful and inspiring drawings are a must for any art lover. Her paintings challenge many of our preconceptions about race, skin, and place. They mostly feature people from her home country in a spectacular fashion.
Her Instagram profile shows followers not only a wide range of her artworks but also snaps of her everyday life with her friends and family.
6. Ryan McGinness / @mcginnessworks
The American artist, Ryan McGinness produces graphic drawings that analyze the contemporary prominence of brands and logos in our everyday lives. His artwork reflects the intersection of the corporate design of Jansy with the art scene.
His works have been displayed in a host of famous Museums including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Misumi Collection in Japan.
While most of McGinness Instagram feed features a wide variety of his works alongside the occasional look into the artist’s life.
7. Jill Greenberg / @jill.greenberg
The photographer Jill Greenberg‘s famous work “End Times” that aimed to “reflect his frustration with the politics of the Bush-era”, saw her received death threats. The pictures depicted portraits of children crying. These are not for the faint minded.
Most of her works feature “hyper-realistic” pictures of people and animals. If you want to see stunning photos of faces, Greenberg is definitely the artist to follow on Instagram.
8. Faith47 / @Faith47
The South-African street artist, Faith47 certainly deserves her status as one of the best artists on Instagram. She features street art from cities from Vienna to Los Angeles that explore ideas such as identity and space.
Faith47 is difficult to define, which is reflected by her insistence that she’s simultaneously an – “explorer. libertine. dreamer. pantheist. writer. photographer. futurist. Painter.”.
The consideration and care that goes into each Instagram post suggest that we can even think of her Instagram feed as a work of art in itself.
9. D*Face / @dface_official
D*Face is certainly one of the best artists on Instagram. The British street artist features an impressive catalog of images of his graphic works, street art pieces and snaps of his daily life.
One of the most transparent artists in the contemporary art scene, by following D*Face you get a glimpse into the methods and tools involved in the creative process.
10. Petra Collins / @petrafcollins
Last but not least on our list of the best artists on Instagram is the photographer Petra Collins. As a model herself, she has unparalleled insight and connections into the world of fashion and celebrity.
She has recently collaborated with the American singer and actress, Selena Gomez on the “Fetish” video. Collins is one of the most visually appealing artists on our list. If you want to be dazzled with her beautiful works on a regular basis, she’s certainly one to follow.
Follow the Best Artists on Instagram
With this list of the best artists on Instagram, you can fill your feed with the world of wonderful, amusing and fascinating art from some of the finest contemporary artists around the world.
If you have any questions or comments about any of the artists or artworks that are featured in this blog post, we look forward to hearing from you in the comments section below!
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