Meet 8 Artists Who Broke Big in 2023—From Sculptor Mire Lee to Abstract Painter Rachel Jones These artists had a banner year, with institutional shows, major prize wins, and unexpected leaps at auction.

BY EMILY STEER

Abstract painting has continued to dominate in 2023, with a host of emerging names making a sizable dent in the market with energetic works inspired by the body and its interior world. Many artists have also successfully embraced an expanded painting practice, working canvases into site-specific, immersive installations, or showing them alongside sculptural and sound elements. This year, psychological themes, unruly bodies, and political collapse have taken center stage.

There has also been a notable move beyond rigid fine art practices, seeing artists experimenting with other forms such as opera, fashion, set design, and music. The artists on this list have seen an increase in their profile this year, with institutional shows, in-depth profiles, major prize wins, unexpected leaps on the auction scene, or exciting ventures into new formats. Expect to see more of them in the new year.

Mandy El-Sayegh

Mandy El-Sayegh had three prominent commercial shows this year, at Ropac in Mayfair and Lehmann Maupin’s New York and London spaces. Her intense painted installations explore the interior world, and often evoke physical places that invite introspection, from the artist’s studio to the analyst’s consulting room. She recently closed her first institutional show in Switzerland with Zurich’s Tidy Ocean Foundation. “In Session” focused on Sigmund Freud’s room, with Persian rugs, a take on his famous couch, and painted grids on the walls.

“It makes me quite paranoid,” she told the Financial Times in August about her recent success. “I thought about changing my name to Mandy Wong—my mum’s name […] It feels very meaningful to achieve some level of visibility from what my parents struggled through to get us [three kids] here… From abject poverty on my mother’s side, I’m like bourgeoisie now. I have [my own] place. I go to a shrink. I went to art school.”