The Most Influential Artists of 2023

BY ALLYSSIA ALLEYNE

What does it mean to wield influence in 2023? As institutions are questioned, gatekeepers are unseated, and social media is giving a microphone to the masses, it’s clearer than ever that it’s not just about the size and strength of the platform you’ve built, but what you choose to do with it. 

Here, we share 10 artists who’ve sparked important conversations, amplified voices in their communities, and drawn attention to the causes they care about this year, from early-career artists gathering momentum to award-winners and trailblazers.

Mandy El-Sayegh

B. 1985, Selangor, Malaysia. Lives and works in London.

London-based artist Mandy El-Sayegh presents a compelling mode of abstraction underpinned by hidden personal and political narratives. Using painting, collage, and silkscreening techniques, she combines fragments of text (newspapers, advertisements, and her father’s Arabic calligraphy, for instance), symbols, and images into dense, grid-like collages. Born in Malaysia to a Chinese mother and Palestinian father, El-Sayegh has been quietly picking up speed over the last couple of years, scoring a nomination for the Max Mara Art Prize for Women in 2017, and staging her first institutional show at London’s Chisenhale Gallery in 2019. 

Her career has only accelerated further since she joined Thaddaeus Ropac in 2020: This year, she had a solo show at the gallery’s London space, which ran concurrently with a joint show (with Kader Attia) at Lehmann Maupinalso in London. She also had a solo show at the Tichy Ocean Foundation in Zürich, as well as another solo at Lehmann Maupin in New York. Along with establishing herself as an artist to watch among gallerists, she’s increased her profile among art buyers, too, boasting a 41% increase in Artsy followers year over year.