Artist’s Artist

Artist’s Artist

Who are artists' favourite artists? Discover trailblazing icons past and present in one minute video profiles.

Artemesia Ghentileschi
00:39
video

Artemesia Ghentileschi

Artemisia Gentileschi gained international success in her lifetime, which was reignited in the modern era due to fascination with her biography. But her skill and dedication to her craft speaks for itself.

Artist William Kentridge sitting in a white shirt in from of monochrome drawings
0:49
video

William Kentridge

Born in Johannesburg in 1955, William Kentridge uses performance, collage and charcoal to discuss and challenge the problems of Apartheid.

Portrait photo of Cai Guo-Qiang
00:55
video

Cai Guo-Qiang

What do you know about the art of blowing things up? Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang has been doing it for fifty years…

Black and white photo of Ed Ruscha
00:36
video

Ed Ruscha

Meet Ed Ruscha, the American Pop artist who fell in love with gas stations on a road trip to Los Angeles in the 1950s.

Close up of Marlene Dumas
00:56
video

Marlene Dumas

The influential South African painter Marlene Dumas is famous for her portraits, but interestingly, she doesn’t see them as portraits at all.

Yayoi Kusama sitting in front of her painting of a pumpkin
01:00
video

Yayoi Kusama

How much do we really know about the dot-obsessed Japanese art icon?

Walton Ford
00:42
video

Walton Ford

American painter Walton Ford loved drawing animals as a kid and never stopped painting the wildlife he cherished.

Photo of Zhang Xiaogang
00:45
video

Zhang Xiaogang

After growing up during the Cultural Revolution in China, Zhang Xiaogang became internationally revered for his intimate portraits of Chinese history.

Black and white photo of Felix Gonzalez-Torres
00:56
video

Felix Gonzalez-Torres

Cuban-American artist Félix González-Torres wanted to infiltrate the way people think and act – quietly but effectively.

Black and white photo of Louise Bourgeois
00:48
video

Louise Bourgeois

Louise Bourgeois turned to art to make sense of her turbulent childhood. Her 80-year career has made a profound mark on 20th and 21st century art. 

Photo of Keith Harring
00:52
video

Keith Haring

Keith Haring made art first and foremost for the people.

Portrait photo of Lynette Yiadom-Boakye
00:47
video

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye

A true pioneer, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s fictional portraits have influenced the 21st century renaissance of the black figure in mainstream art. 

Black and white photo of Lawrence Weiner
00:51
video

Lawrence Weiner

For Lawrence Weiner, art should do three things: ask questions, communicate an idea, and be useful for people. 

David Hockney with two dogs
00:57
video

David Hockney

As one of the most celebrated painters alive, David Hockney remains dedicated to finding new ways to capture the enormity of the world around us.

Chris Ofili
00:55
video

Chris Ofili

Chris Ofili rose to fame in the late ‘80s as a figurehead of the Young British Artists. He was the first Black artist to win the Turner Prize, and throughout his career, his art has challenged and changed perceptions in the art world and beyond.

Julie Mehretu
00:58
video

Julie Mehretu

This hugely influential Ethiopian-American artist has changed the game for abstract painting. Her epic, monumental works are based on real, historical events.


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