Famous European Contemporary Artists You Should Know
Contemporary art, also known as modern art, is an ever-evolving sphere of creativity and a source of inspiration for visitors to galleries and museums around the world. European contemporary art has particularly come to the forefront in recent years, with a multitude of notable galleries now highlighting the works of some of the most iconic and influential European contemporary artists. Here we have rounded up ten of the most famous contemporary European artists who have helped to shape the modern artistic landscape.
Enrico David
Enrico David is a British-Italian artist whose work is rife with references to the human body and often uses fabric as a primary material. His works explore themes of identity, psychology, sexuality and narrative. He is known best for his figurative sculptures and was the recipient of the prestigious Hugo Boss Prize in 2004. The Tate Britain gallery in London holds numerous examples of his work in their permanent collection.
Ana Maria Maiolino
Ana Maria Maiolino is a Brazilian-born artist who had a major retrospective exhibition in the UK’s Whitechapel gallery in 2019. Maiolino works across a wide range of media, including drawing, installation and performance pieces. Maiolino’s films and multimedia installations have engaged extensively with themes of displacement, exile and memory.
Yto Barrada
Yto Barrada is a French-Moroccan artist who works in many mediums, including film, photography, drawing, sculpture and installations. Barrada’s work is often a reflection on her upbringing in the mixed Arab-European culture of Tangier. It is heavily rooted in socio-political analysis and she has created numerous works questioning the political systems of the west, often questioning history and nationalism.
Thomas Hirschhorn
Thomas Hirschhorn is a Swiss contemporary installation artist and sculptor. Since the early 1990s, Hirschhorn has been creating works often using cardboard and fabrics in an effort to explore themes of resistance and identity. In recent years, Hirschhorn has been creating interventions in public spaces that discuss cultural power and social change.
Maria Papadimitriou
Maria Papadimitriou is a Greek multimedia artist who is acclaimed for her video and digital media art. She is best known for her interactive art installations that engage with the imagined and the unknown. Papadimitriou uses her art to reflect her own personal experiences, often exploring issues of identity, memory and culture.
Julika Rudelius
Julika Rudelius is a German-American artist working primarily in the medium of performance art. Rudelius’s work is provocative and often provokes questions of the human condition. She has collaborated with many of Europe’s well-known theatres and universities on productions and installations, and her work has recently been featured at the Tate Modern in London.
Nairy Baghramian
Nairy Baghramian is a Berlin-based Iranian sculptor and installation artist. She works to manipulate materials in innovative ways, often creating abstract objects that explore the form and function of structure. Her sculptural works are heavily inspired by human figures and her installations have a focus on site-specific exhibitions.
Mierle Laderman Ukeles
Mierle Laderman Ukeles is a New York-based performance and installation artist originally from the UK. She is renowned for her works that challenge the everyday status of women and have helped shaped the perception of public art. Ukeles’s works explore from ideas of feminism and ecological issues, to labor and urbanization.
Emily Jacir
Emily Jacir is a Palestinian-American multimedia artist whose work has been displayed in numerous international exhibitions, including those at the Guggenheim, the Tate Modern and MoCA. Jacir’s works are often focused on culture, displacement, memory and identity, and incorporate everyday objects in poetic and unexpected ways.
Ragnar Kjartansson
Ragnar Kjartansson is an Icelandic artist and musician best known for his performance-based works, often using live music to tell stories. His work has been exhibited all over the world, including at the Pompidou Centre and the Venice Biennale. Kjartansson’s installations often feature large-scale, whimsical productions that explore stories of love, death and myth.
European contemporary art has a long and varied history and the works of the modern European artists featured in this article have helped to shape the contemporary world. Their works have won them international recognition, prominent exhibitions and prestigious accolades, while the unique subject matter they tackle reflects their respective cultures, backgrounds and experiences.
