Rise Art’s Top 5 Contemporary Artists

KEF!

KEF!’s street art and graffiti aesthetic have tickled the fancy of collectors and galleries worldwide. Inspired by the likes of Paul Klee, whose style was also influenced by cubist, expressionistic and surrealist tendencies, KEF!’s murals and paintings are original, hypnotic and quite unlike anything else on the contemporary art scene. The Berlin-based artist sets out to "peacefully communicate that which words cannot". Swirling shapes and ribbony lines make for a free-flowing, visual poesy to soften and stylise any setting.

 

Moonlight on the Water #3 by KEF!

 

Alison Johnson

Alison Johnson’s impressionistic paintings take on a life of their own. Experimenting with the power of light, layered textures and moody colour palettes, Alison catapults viewers into another time and place. Although highly traditional in technique, Alison modernises her seascapes and stormy settings through her evocative sense of movement and delicate yet visually arresting gold and white embellishments.

 

 Back wash by Alison Johnson

 

Bruce Mclean

Scottish artist Bruce Mclean produces probing and provocative work that chimes with his unpredictable mixed-media practice. With a cross-pollination of abstract styles and the use of myriad mediums from paper to print and collage, Bruce’s art is unbridled and ever-evolving. Often using satire to mock the artistic status quo, there is a meaningful and eye-opening depth to many of his expressive and luminous works. 

 

 Untitled by Bruce McLean

 

Matthew Dibble

Enriched with experimentation and spiced with a nuanced sensibility, modern-day abstract expressionist, Matthew Dibble, is up there with the greats. Think Cezanne and De Kooning, but with a contemporary and most-touching twist. Matthew’s contrasting portfolio of figurative collages and abstract paintings hum with feeling, heart and complexity. Known for his unrivalled technical depth and utterly engaging works, Matthew never fails to surprise and inspire with his craft.

 

H.R. Rocket by Matthew Dibble

 

Daisy Cook

With layers, drips, geometric shapes and stony colour palettes, Daisy Cook’s illusory canvases are like distant memories fading into, or just out of, view. Mystical and evanescent, Daisy’s abstract collages and paintings evoke the very essence of her subjects, rather than represent them. The artist reinvents an age-old tradition with her singular approach to landscape art, placing her high on the ever-rising rungs of contemporary art.

 

Green Collage with Circle by Daisy Cook