9 Collectors on the Artists, Shows, and Trends to Watch in 2024

There’s a lot to look forward to in the art world this year, from the Venice Biennale to remarkable museum exhibitions to the usual drumbeat of openings, art fairs, and gallery shows. Art lovers of all stripes will find plenty to sate their aesthetic appetites.

With the ball already rolling on what’s set to be another packed year, Artsy spoke to nine collectors to find out what they’re looking forward to in 2024.

“I expect to see less focus on what’s new and more attention paid to mid-career artists who are well positioned to have a broader audience celebrate their practice. Jeffrey Gibson, who will represent the U.S. at the 2024 Venice Biennale, should have a standout year. Also, Firelei Báez will have her first museum survey at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston this year. That show, in combination with her recent addition to Hauser & Wirth’s roster, should make this an exciting year for Báez.

“I’m also excited to see the ‘Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism’ show when it opens at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in February. It should be a must-see in May for those who won’t make a trip to the city before New York Art Week.”

“Asian diasporic artists are going to have a great moment in the coming decade. I’m seeing great practices that are well supported by institutions. WangShui, Naotaka Hiro, Ami Lien & Enzo Camacho, and Skyler Chen are some of the names that come to mind. I’m also excited to see mid-career artists break out, such as Paul Pfeiffer, who is currently having a retrospective at MOCA Los Angeles.”

“I look forward to seeing this year’s Venice Biennale and am sure many of the artists in the Biennale will see increased attention throughout the year and for years to come.

“Last year, I anticipated more attention on female abstract painters, especially those whose works often include the female figure, such as Cecily Brown, Sarah Awad, and Corrine Slade. I believe this trend, and interest in abstraction in general, will continue.

“I’m also noticing a focus on landscape paintings, whether it’s the fantastical landscapes of Salvo, Nicolas Party, or Daisy Dodd-Noble; the beautiful intense landscapes of Lucas Arruda and Soumya Netrabile; or the more subtle skyline of Yoab Vera.”

“In 2024, India will continue to establish itself as a player to watch on the global art scene. Whilst its legendary artists are continuing to receive long-overdue attention in Western art institutions, like Sayed Haider Raza at the Centre Pompidou last year, there is another shift happening on home soil. The burgeoning demand for international art in India is served by a combination of several active, global-facing private museums, new art fairs, an internationally acclaimed commercial gallery scene, and the diversification of private art collections. It’s reshaping the country’s cultural landscape and appetites, thereby creating new dialogues between both Western and Indian art ecosystems.

“For example, the arrival of the monumental Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) in Mumbai hints at fresh new possibilities for museum-quality presentations of internationally known artists. I’ve curated a show there that features names like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Keith Haring, who had never been seen before in the country and are now on view to the public for the first time.”

“I think 2024 will bring us inflection points of exactly why we got to where we are. Artists are increasingly thinking about our past in the context of our present, and how history has dictated what we are living through now.

“This is true for the project of Ahmed Mater and Armin Linke that will be shown at the upcoming Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, ‘After Rain,’ which is curated by Ute Meta Bauer. In this second edition of the Biennale, Mater and Linke will present a project detailing the idea of futurism in Saudi Arabia since the discovery of oil in the 1940s—in a country and kingdom that is astonishing us all with its forward movement.

“I think these same ideas will hold true—although with a sadly and necessarily darker shadow in the context of Italian politics and that of wider Europe—for this year’s Venice Biennale, curated by Adriano Pedrosa with the theme of ‘Foreigners Everywhere. We know Pedrosa’s work is so focused on diverse voices and also on histories, as his shows at MASP have so acutely told us.

“Another moment of celebration will be quite personal for me: the full embrace of Asia in the world after too long separated during COVID. I am so honored to be the chair of the K11 International Council and to preside over the inaugural K11 Artist Prize, which will be awarded in March during Art Basel Hong Kong. We will have the prize, exhibitions, and so much more.

“The rest of the year will have so much to offer, but ultimately it is the artists and institutions who will tell us these stories about who we were, who we are, and who we should—and can—be!”

“I’m anticipating a major surge in the trend of modern takes on classic masterpieces. Building on the momentum generated by Anna Weyant’s interpretations of the Dutch Golden Age, one artist to closely watch in this movement is the Paris-based artist Jean Nipon, whose colored pencil Renaissance-esque works will lead to a breakout year for both him and Galerie PACT. His solo show with the gallery this fall will be the talk of this year’s Paris+ par Art Basel.

“Another gallery that’s poised for a huge year is Almine Rech, especially as it begins its first full calendar year in its new 10,000-square-foot space in New York. Upcoming New York solo shows at the gallery with Jess Valice, Ryan Schneider, and Szabolcs Bozó will catapult these artists into the mainstream.”

“I feel like we’re in an incredibly exciting cultural moment. If you spend time in New York, you know that the city is full of energy and great art right now.…There is truly too much to see!

“A few galleries where I always discover great artists are James Cohan in Tribeca, Nina Johnson in Miami, and Jessica Silverman in San Francisco. Another of my favorite places to discover new artists is through Titus Kaphar’s residency in New Haven, NXTHVN. I always make sure to take one trip a year there to see the new cohort of extraordinary residents, and I love following their practices after they leave.”

“I’m excited about so much in 2024. In the spring, the Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) will open the first museum survey of Robin F. Williams, ‘We’ve Been Expecting You.’ Robin is an incredible artist, combining inventive technical skill and a brilliant conceptual framework to confront how the media, pop culture, cinema, and art history shape our understanding of gender and the representation of women. The show will include work made throughout her career, where she has bravely reinvented herself with each new cycle of paintings. It’s an especially great moment for the CMA and Robin, as she grew up in Columbus. We’re thrilled to celebrate her at this point in a very exciting career.

“More than 100 years ago in Paris, Marie Laurencin was examining many similar themes. In an art world then dominated by men, Laurencin painted a modern world composed almost entirely of women. We’re excited to pair Robin’s exhibition with ‘Marie Laurencin: Sapphic Paris,’ which travels to Columbus from the Barnes Foundation.

“I can’t wait to head to Venice for the Biennale to see Jeffrey Gibson’s U.S. Pavilion presentation and Adriano Pedrosa’s curated exhibition, built on the theme of ‘Foreigners Everywhere.’ In Los Angeles, MOCA has Josh Kline and a really interesting Photorealism show. The Gary Simmons exhibition currently open at PAMM in Miami is a must-see. I’m also excited to see Firelei Báez at the ICA Boston, and to see Ed Ruscha again, this time at home in L.A.

“In terms of collecting, I’m excited about so many artists, including (in no particular order) Carol Bove, Mario Ayala, Sasha Gordon, Kevin Beasley, Tau Lewis, Lesley Vance, Grace Carney, Friedrich Kunath, Louise Bonnet, Rebecca Morris, Sharif Farrag, Salman Toor, Jenna Gribbon, Tidawhitney Lek, Sayre Gomez, Leslie Martinez (see her show at MoMA PS1!), and so many more.

“Finally, at Orange Barrel Media, we were fortunate to partner with over 100 artists in 2023, working on amazing projects with artists such as Sarah Cain, Christine Sun Kim, Jennifer West, and Patrick Martinez. This year, we’re excited to kick off projects with Glenn Kaino, Mr. Wash, Sadie Barnette, and many more.

“This being a presidential election year, we’re also excited to reconstitute our project, Art for Action, a nationwide get-out-the-vote effort that features art and information encouraging registration, absentee voting, and finally on election day, getting people to the polls. In 2020, we partnered with artists Tomashi Jackson, Carrie Mae Weems, Jeffrey Gibson, and Jenny Holzer. The project was seen by more than 100 million potential voters, and we’re excited to work with more artists to encourage democracy in 2024.”