Glitter and sequins. Ceramics and pottery. And the buck doesn’t stop there. Here are our art trend predictions for the coming year.
They say art imitates life but, arguably, it goes both ways. Certainly global interests influence what artists are creating and focusing on, but mass trends often influence artistic output, as well.
Over the past few years, a handful of distinct trends have been cropping up in the “visual” arts (you’ll see why that’s in quotes later) and it looks as though the rest of the world is finally catching up.
Let’s take a look . . .
1. Signature Scents
Recently, artists are exploring the way scent can interact with their works. Artists like Quay Quinn Wolf and Anicka Yi imbue their pieces with essential oils, botanicals, or other materials that create an aroma.
This integration creates a heightened sensory experience beyond the traditional visual.
Images via Alena Veasey and Alena Veasey.
In tandem, there’s a continued uptick in mass consumer interest in fragrance and, more specifically, the concept of having a signature scent. Wearing perfume is certainly not new, but other types of adornment that show up better on camera took center stage in the 2010s.
Now, more and more people are embracing this element of personal style. According to Business Insider, perfume sales have been surging in the past year. We also see influencers in this market for the first time ever.
Whether it’s podcasts such as Smell Ya Later, which are dedicated to perfumery, or a bustling TikTok community of perfume reviewers, scent is a big market trend.
Images via shinshila, Makistock, and Design_Cells.
2. All That Glitters
Similarly, glitter and surface texture have been making a comeback. Artists such as Rachael Tarravechia, Devan Shimoyama, and Mary Corse use rhinestones, glitter, and even reflective road material to draw attention to different areas of their paintings and to enhance the dimensionality of their surfaces.
Their works shine and appear to move and change depending on the position of the viewer.
Tactile patterns, glitters, and sequins make a comeback in art and fashion. Images via lev radin, Hamed Yeganeh, Luca Ponti, and lev radin.
Sequins, rhinestones, and other surface embellishments are also making a comeback in fashion, beauty, and marketing.
TV shows such as Euphoria, which make heavy use of glitter and rhinestones in the protagonists’ makeup and wardrobes, are also helping bring back interest in these aesthetic elements.
We expect to see more shine—whether that be in sequin, metallic, or glitter form—in the coming months, both in fashion and interior design, as well as in marketing.
Images via Dragon Images, Roman Chazov, Kiselev Andrey Valerevich, and Miramiska.
3. Reimagining Craft
Another trend that we’re keeping an eye on is the return to activities usually designated as “craft”—specifically ceramics and fiber arts.
Artists such as Grant Levi Lucero, Jen Dwyer, and Maria Paz work with and expand upon traditional ceramic techniques, bringing a renewed life to objects including vases, jugs, and ceramic knick knacks. The resulting works have character and depth that goes beyond, and even questions, their utility.
Ceramic work has also been making a splash on social media and will continue to grow in the coming years. Collecting handmade ceramic tableware and mugs by local artists has been a welcome alternative to mass produced options. Making ceramics has also become an increasingly popular hobby.
Images via Odua Images, Pankofff, Tetiana Volkonska, and 54613.
Along these lines is also a resurgence of fiber art. Whether it be weaving, tufting, crocheting, or organic fabric dyeing, artists have been resurrecting fiber techniques that have been around for millennia.
Erin M. Riley and Qualesha Wood merge imagery we’re familiar with from our online existences with the soft, organic effect of loom woven fabrics.
Wes Bechter and Chiara No use tufting techniques to create incredibly textured rug-like works.
According to Architectural Digest and Refinery29, tufting has become a popular hobby, particularly over the pandemic when people needed diversions and additional forms of income to fill their newfound free time.
We anticipate that this trending hobby will also manifest in larger-scale ways that move beyond rugs and wall art. It wouldn’t be at all surprising if, in the coming year, we see tufted coats or reimaginings of the classic tapestry bag, ushering in a new era of color, texture, and softness that disrupts the minimalist status quo.
Images via Karyn Millet, Bisual Studio, and Petra Silie.
4. Art You Can Eat
An unexpected, and still fairly new, art trend that’s emerged recently is food as art, not to be confused with art depicting food. Artists such as Alli Gelles (Cakes4Sport) and food stylists like The Gemini Bake take food—particularly desserts—far beyond their flavor and truly explore them as aesthetic objects and even props.
These artists take something straightforward like a cake or Jell-O mold and turn them into playful, emotive creations that are sometimes even displayed in gallery exhibitions.
Images via TomNovok, manasapat, mangolovemom, and Mark Brandon.
We’re already seeing how this trend may play out on a larger scale in the near future. The Gemini Bake recently collaborated with Marc Jacobs and Nylon Magazine on a photoshoot using their creations as props and Cakes4Sport worked with the brand Puppets and Puppets to create cake hats.
While we don’t necessarily think everyone will be donning cake hats anytime soon, confection-inspired accessories and food as a marketing tool will definitely be making appearances.
Takeaways
It’s looking like the overarching trend both in art with consumers is a desire to create a multisensory image or experience. Tactility is trending. Creators, designers, artists, bakers, marketing agencies, and perfumers are seeing the value in cross pollination and collaboration as a way to give their audiences and customers experiences that go beyond the 2D images on our screens.
One takeaway of this is that perhaps people are connecting more and more with the idea of having in-person experiences. People of all ages are growing a bit weary of being “chronically online” and are searching for little ways to reward and relish interactions that happen face to face, particularly since the pandemic.
A social media post will never be able to capture someone’s signature scent, the texture of something made by hand, or the way something can be equally beautiful and delicious. You have to be there to experience it.
Hrag Vartanian, of Hyperallergic, may have said it best:
While the motivations to make this type of work are certainly diverse, I can also imagine that being robbed of hugs and physical contact during the pandemic also drove the desire for such tactile works, as if to overcompensate for the continuing prohibition to touch those around you.
Hrag Vartanian
Images via Elena Zhogol, Tim photo-video, maxtimofeev, Angelina Egorova, Jenson, and Leire Cavia / Addictive Creative.
Cover image via Beauty Stock.
