Photo: Jeff Henrikson
The Impressionists got blurry. The ab-ex painters blasted apart figuration after the ravages of World War II. The YBAs went full po-mo neo-Duchampian to address late-stage capitalism. What links the artists making vital art now? Well, quite a lot—this generation’s group is collectively grappling with a tumultuous decade. These artists came of age when social media rewired our brains following pandemic lockdowns, when excess screen time beckoned to the old pastoral outdoors of the landscapists from centuries ago, when current events warped the idea of the straightforward narrative, when AI caused a reevaluation of the whole idea of artistic creation.
