The (23-Year-) Old Masters- Wall Street Journal 2003

'A hot art market is stoking prices for artists barely out of their teens. Our reporter on high-school talent searches, a sale to Michael Ovitz -- and what you can get for $6,000.'

- Kelly Crow, Wall Street Journal Article, 2003

An article I was reading today about young and emerging American artists that is now relitively dated. I decided to look at what the artists that previously had been tipped to be the next big thing and what they were doing now. These artists include: Rosson Crow, Natalie Frank, Rashawn Griffin, Barney Kulok, Zane Lewis, Keegan McHargue, Ted Mineo, Dash Snow, Ryan Trecartin, Jordan Wolfson.

Rosson Crow- Now hangs out in the lofty heights of LA with her celebrity friends and has carved her way into the new age of American art. I would describe her as the potential female version of Andy Warhol. Crow's work is vibrant and busy, depicting mainly abstracted interior scenes. The boundaries between low and high culture are blurred throughout her vivid paintings. She seems to work in some sort of sickly neon pink frenzy and by looking through related image searches it is clear that this reflects what her life has become. She has reached that celebrity status in her own right, the paparazzi photos are in abundance as are the fashion spreads in glossy magazines. I do wonder however, will this jeopardize the validity of her work, will that subtle contrast between low and high cultures become to heavily weighted in the latter?

Rosson Crow, The Boneyard, 2010, Acrylic, oil and enamel on canvas, 96 x 120 inches

Natalie Frank- Frank despite having been to some impressive academic institutions such as Colombia and the Slade, has been relitively quiet since 2006 when she graduated, her most recent solo show was in St. Barths in the French West Indies which is a far cry from the NY armory show in 2006. Her works remind me of a cross between Saville and Bacon and although her work is technically perfect it could be interpreted as a little dated, a regurgitated style of painting. Saying that she is exhibiting all over the world and I feel her career maybe a slow burner. 

 

Rashawn Griffin – Griffin's work could be likened to that of Eva Hesse with hints of Duchampian ideologies. After being snapped up by dealer Thomas Erban early on his career it would seem like Saachi has now jumped on the band wagon as well, financially sound but content is debatable.

Barney Kulok – The young photographer is still generating a living in his home town New York, he is now represented by Nicole Klagsbrun who seem to have a good collection of international artists exhibiting regularly. Had previously worked under Brazilian artist Vik Muniz which has seemed to have an affect on Kuloks professional approach to art. 

 

Zane Lewis – Who according to Wikipedia is a distant cousin of James Dean and was the youngest artist ever to exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary art Georgia. The work his is most renowned for is his drip paintings which has gained the catch phrase 'making art bleed'. In these works he depicts celebrity culture, both the fantasied media interpretations of the culture, Brad and Angelina for instance but also the darker side of fame, the people whom are famous for all the wrong reasons like Kim Jong Il and Charles Manson. The drip inspiration in his work apparently comes from the phenomena of the weeping statue and the idea that a inanimate object can be given life through the oozing paint.

Keegan McHargue- The youngest and probably the most celebrated of the ten chosen artists in the article. McHargue had his work snapped up by the MoMA, New York at an early age and has gone from strength to strength over the last few years. He has had 8 solo exhibitions since 2006 and has shown work around the world, Tokyo, Koln, Paris and Athens to name a few. Probably 'the one' to keep tabs on in the future.

Ted Mineo – Surrealist, Realism, Contemporary, Fantasy are some of the words that spring to mind when looking at Mineo's work. It is very difficult to place him in any kind of canon and his work is very different to anything I have seen before. He works with a varied range of Media, and is clearly a very accomplished draftsman, his drawing and painting technique is perfect. He depicts anyting from pizza, to dogs even Jesus. All I can say is, that he could be on to something.

Ted Mineo, Muffuletta, 2005, 20" x 16", oil on panel

Dash Snow- Probably the saddest case of all the Wall street chosen. Snow died in 2009 of a drug overdose in a hotel in lower Manhattan. Parallels can be made to a 21^st centuary Basquait or could be compared to the visual art world's Amy Winehouse, to quote the Specials 'did too much, much too young'. His work reflects the work of his influences, namely Nan Goldin and depicted scenes of drug taking, sex and the debauchery of the New York art scene.

 

Ryan Trecartin- Not my cup of tea, but it would seem that Trecartin is one of the more financially successful of the group. The video artist makes strange video's that can only be described as surreal character studies. It makes the viewer feel awkward and unsettled, it depicts scenes from American society and covers numerous issues such as class divide, celebrity culture and sexuality to name only a smidge. I can see the appeal, the works are bold and ground breaking. Charles Saachi obviously thought so as he bought 7 of Trecartin's works early on. He has just had a recent show at PS1 Gallery MoMA. 

 

Jordan Wolfson- The dark horse of the group Wolfson is a video and installation artist who has built up quite a repotoir of exhibitions and awards such as the Cartier Award from the Frieze Foundation in 2009. Wolfson continues to push the boundaries of artistic cinema and installation and currently works in Berlin and New York.

**As an afterthought I noticed the similarity between the aesthetics of Rachel Maclean's work and that of Ryan Trecartin here are two videos by the artists. Not my favorite but cirtainly shows a trend.**