2017’s Most Influential Contemporary Pieces:

2017 was a great year for art, with a range of social injustice issues hitting the tabloids, contemporary artists were left to ‘run wild’ when addressing these issues. Here are 10 of the most influential contemporary art pieces of 2017:

Gheorghe Virtosu: Revolutionary Ideology

Probably the biggest outburst of the year, Gheorghe Virtosu shows his audience how a revolutionary idea takes its toll on society, and even the brains of individuals, the range of colors and textures really display this.

The Hole – A walk in Experience

Have you always wanted to leap into a painting to pick up the details you’re missing in 2D? Well with ‘The Hole’ you can do just that. Explore the most abstract jungle in the world of art. Is this scenery something you’re worried to be losing in the real world? Arguably, the artist did this to make their audience aware that global warming is happening here, and it’s happening now!

Anat Ebgi

Showing the empowerment of women in the modern day society, this artist uses the idea of sketched shadows to play a few mind tricks on its audience. Can women really walk the walk, sure the shadow seems stylish, but what else is she going to offer her audience?

Caroline Scheeman – More Wrong Things:

Caroline captures one of society’s biggest issue at the moment – technology addiction. Tens of hanging tech equipment highlight the idea that was constantly surrounded by a sea of mobiles and laptops- how can we stay away? Caroline creates the sense of fear here with her deep, dark backlight, and the atmospheric thought of the audience being intertwined with these cables as if they were almost strangling you. This increases the pressure to use technology in the modern day world.

Camille Henrot – Days are Dogs:

As we all know, mundane household chores are the worst thing to do after a hard day working- Henrot wants to emphasize this, with a busy household scene, handprints on the wall and unwashed dishes- the idea of an ‘adult life’ is really highlighted within this piece.

Lubaina Himid – The Lancaster Dinner Service:

Himid made history this year when she became the first woman of color to take home the Turner Prize. Her crockery work, which features scenes of slavery, is the perfect imagery to highlight how ‘whilst the rich were sipping tea and relaxing, there was those at the hands of those rich people’.

Akunyili Crosby- As you see me:

In this piece, a living room is displayed. Filled with cut-outs of Nigerian newspaper, leading us to believe that Crosby did this to emphasize that she is only what she is portrayed as in the media. While in fact, Crosby explores her family history in this piece, from being in isolated villages to urban areas.