Famous 21st Century Sculptors

English sculptor, artist, and photographer Andy Goldsworthy has revolutionized outdoor art by creating masterpieces with naturally available material such as rain, snow, and rocks. A farm laborer in his younger days, he developed an early love for nature and the elements. Rain Shadows remains one of his best-loved works.

Richard Serra is an American artist renowned for his large-scale sculptures that are designed for site-specific landscape, architectural, and urban settings. Many of his works are displayed in several museums, including The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris. Serra is the recipient of several prestigious awards like The National Arts Award.

Takashi Murakami is a Japanese contemporary artist who works in both fine arts media and commercial arts media. He is known for blurring the line between “high” and “low” arts. He is the founder of the art production and artist management company Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. He has collaborated with the fashion brand Louis Vuitton as well. 

Presidential Medal-winning artist Jasper Johns is best known for his contribution to the pop art movement. His paintings revolve around subjects such as flags, numbers, and letters, whereas he has also gained fame for his cast sculpture art such as Painted Bronze. He also once experimented by attaching strings to his art.

Jeff Koons is an American artist best known for his versatility and work that deals with popular culture. Koons is also known for his sculptures, such as large balloon animals made using stainless steel to achieve mirror-finish surfaces. One of the most successful artists of his generation, Koons has produced works that have earned a couple of record auction prices.

Born in India, sculptor Anish Kapoor initially studied engineering in Israel but soon quit his studies to study art in Britain. The Turner Prize-winning artist was the first living artist to earn a solo show at London’s Royal Academy of Arts. The Cloud Gate in Chicago remain his best-loved work.

Claes Oldenburg is a Swedish-American sculptor recognized for his public art installations. Many of his artworks, which were co-designed by his wife Coosje van Bruggen until 2009, feature everyday objects. One of the most celebrated sculptors of his generation, Claes Oldenburg has been honored with many prestigious awards like the National Medal of Arts and the Wolf Prize in Arts.  

Sculptor Antony Gormley is best known for his human forms, most of which he creates using his own naked form. The Turner Prize-winning artist had initially studied history and archaeology but later turned to art. His best-known works include Angel of the North and Three Ways: Mould, Hole and Passage.

Jenny Holzer is an American artist best known for her association with neo-conceptual art. Her work focuses on conveying ideas and messages in public spaces with the help of large-scale installations, illuminated electronic displays, projections on buildings, and advertising billboards. Over the course of her career, Holzer has received several awards like the Golden Lion at the 1990 Venice Biennale.

Olafur Eliasson is an Icelandic-Danish artist. He is famous for his sculptured and large-scale installation art. He established Studio Olafur Eliasson in Berlin in 1995 and co-founded Studio Other Spaces in 2014. He represented Denmark at the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003. He was a professor at the Berlin University of the Arts for many years. 

German painter and sculptor Anselm Kiefer, counted among leading figures of the Neo-Expressionist art movement of the late 20th century, is noted for his works like The Hierarchy of Angels (painting), The Secret Life of Plants (sculpture) and Grane (woodcut). Themes of Kiefer were often influenced by the spiritual concepts of Kabbalah, horror of the Holocaust and poems of Paul Celan.

Frank Stella is an American sculptor, painter, and printmaker known for his work in the fields of post-painterly abstraction and minimalism. An influential artist, Stella has been an ardent supporter of copyright protection for artists. In 2009, he was honored with the prestigious National Medal of Arts. In 2011, the International Sculpture Center honored Stella with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Romero Britto is a Brazilian painter, artist, sculptor, and serigrapher. He is best known for his distinctive style that fuses elements of pop art, cubism, and graffiti painting. Romero Britto is also known for using bold patterns and vibrant colors as a visual expression of happiness, dreams, and hope.

Robert Indiana was an American artist best remembered for his association with the pop art movement. He is credited with creating the popular Love sculpture. The sculpture, which is situated at the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA), was the basis for the 1973 US Postal Service LOVE stamp. Indiana's works are preserved in numerous museums, including the McNay Art Museum.  

Ellsworth Kelly was an American sculptor, painter, and printmaker best remembered for his association with Color Field painting, hard-edge painting, and minimalism. Over the course of his illustrious career, Kelly was honored with several prestigious awards, such as the National Medal of Arts and Edward MacDowell Medal.

German art-forger and artist Wolfgang Beltracchi gained notoriety for his involvement in an international art scam where he forged paintings of famous artists like Max Ernst, Fernand Léger, Heinrich Campendonk, and Kees van Dongen and sold them to make profits that surpassed $100m. Beltracchi and his wife, Helene, were found guilty and were given six-year and four-year prison terms respectively.

The founder of the London-based architecture firm Heatherwick Studio, Thomas Heatherwick is best known for his works such as the Seed Cathedral for the 2010 Shanghai Expo’s UK Pavilion and the 2012 Olympic Cauldron. A descendant of the owners of fashion brand Jaeger, he studied 3-D design and revolutionized architecture.

Maurizio Cattelan is an Italian artist best known for his hyperrealistic sculptures and installations. He has a satirical approach to art and is often considered a joker or prankster of the art world. His works have been exhibited internationally in museums. One of his best-known works is America, a fully functional toilet made of solid gold. 

Chris Ofili is a British painter best known for such works that have been created using elephant dung as part of their creation. His paintings earned him the prestigious Turner Prize in 1998. Chris Ofili, whose work has been categorized as punk art, also utilizes cut-outs from porn magazines, glitter, beads, resin, and oil paint as painting elements.

Emilie Benes Brzezinski is a Swiss American sculptor best known for her sculptures made out of wood. Her monumental work Lintel, which was made from cut cherry trees, is currently preserved in a sculpture park named Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey. Over the years, Emilie Benes has displayed her work at several art exhibitions, including the Florence Biennale.

Remembered for her surrealist paintings, sculptor and painter Dorothea Margaret Tanning seemed to have recreated her visions and dreams through her art. Most of her works showcase unreal situations, with motifs such as gigantic flowers and doors. Her iconic installation Hôtel du Pavot, Chambre 202 showcases her sculpting skills.

Ginger Gilmour is an American sculptor, author, artist, and former model. Best known for her work featuring angels, Gilmour has had her work exhibited in several venues and galleries, including Arundel Castle, Mall Galleries, London, and the Embassy of Germany in London. Apart from being an artist, Gilmour also teaches art and Mental Color Healing, a form of esoteric healing.   

Bruce Nauman is an American artist whose work involves sculpting, printmaking, drawing, and photography. In 1993, he was honored with the Wolf Prize for his contribution to 20th-century art and his work as a sculptor. He has also received other prestigious awards like the Wexner Prize. In 2004, he was named in Time magazine's list of 100 most influential people.

Sol Lewitt was an American artist best remembered for his association with various movements, including minimalism and conceptual art. LeWitt was also prolific in drawing, printmaking, installation, photography, and painting. Since 1965, Lewitt has been the subject of several solo exhibitions in galleries and museums around the world. His life inspired a biography titled Sol LeWitt: A Life of Ideas.

Swedish artist Lars Vilks created a major controversy with one of his drawings that showed Prophet Muhammad's head set on a dog's body. Previously, his 2 sculptures, Nimis and Arx, set in the Kullaberg nature reserve, were attacked by vandals. He died in a traffic accident in southern Sweden.

Lorenzo Quinn is an Italian sculptor whose works can be seen in places like the UK and Spain. Apart from being a sculptor, Quinn also works with charity organizations and donates his sculptures to charitable causes. He is also credited with designing MOTO GP championships' Ride The World trophy. A multi-talented personality, Quinn also co-owns a restaurant named Galeria Gastronomica.

Kerry James Marshall is an American professor and artist renowned for his artworks and paintings of Black figures. His work has inspired and influenced contemporary artists like Hank Willis Thomas. In 2017, he was mentioned in Time magazine's list of 100 most influential people. Marshall has also taught at prestigious institutions like the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC).

Luis Jiménez was an American sculptor best remembered for depicting Hispanic-American themes through his works, which have been exhibited at the Denver International Airport as well as the Smithsonian. In addition to being a sculptor, Jiménez has also taught art at institutions like the University of Houston and the University of Arizona.

Jim Dine is an American artist who focuses on painting, printmaking, drawing, photography, and sculpting. Throughout his career, Dine has been linked with many art movements, including Neo-Dada, Pop Art, and Abstract Expressionism. Over the years, Jim Dine’s work has been displayed in various museums like the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

The first female recipient of the Turner Prize, sculptor Rachel Whiteread is best known for her work House. Her signature style includes portraying the negative spaces around objects. She is also known for her use of graph paper and is part of the Young British Artists movement.

Carl Andre is an American artist best known for his association with Minimalism. Renowned for his grid format and ordered linear sculptures, Andre has exhibited his work in several museums and sculpture gardens, including the Kröller-Müller Museum in the Netherlands.

Ruth Asawa was an American sculptor best remembered for her wire sculptures, some of which are preserved in the tower of the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco, California. An arts education advocate, Asawa played an important role in the establishment of the San Francisco School of the Arts.

Edward Tufte is an American statistician best known for his pioneering work in the area of data visualization. He also serves as a professor emeritus of computer science, statistics, and political science at Yale University.

Best known for his abstract paintings composed of geometrical forms, Irish-born British artist Sean Scully is now based in the US. He worked as a laborer and a truck loader while he trained in art. A former Harvard fellow, he later became the first Western artist to with a career-tracking retrospective in China.

Giuliano Gemma was an Italian actor best remembered for his performances in Spaghetti Westerns. Giuliano Gemma achieved international recognition for his portrayal of the title role in Duccio Tessari's A Pistol for Ringo. The success of the movie earned him title roles in subsequent Spaghetti Westerns, such as The Return of Ringo and Michele Lupo's Arizona Colt.

Cécilia Rodhe is a Swedish sculptor and former model who lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She achieved popularity in 1978 when she won the Miss Sweden pageant. She went on to compete in the Miss Universe pageant the same year where she finished fifth.

Sarah Sze is an American contemporary artist best known for her installation works and sculptures. She uses everyday materials to explore the role of technology in contemporary life for which she has received several awards like the Louise Blouin Foundation Award and Louis Comfort Tiffany Award. Apart from being an artist, Sarah also works as a professor at Columbia University.

Theo Jansen is a Dutch artist best known for his sculptures that combine art and engineering. He achieved popularity when he invented the Strandbeest, a moving kinetic structure that resembles a walking animal. Described as an artificial life by Jansen, these sculptures are constantly being improved. In 2016, The Simpsons featured Jansen and the Strandbeest in one of its episodes. 

After graduating from Aichi University, Yoshitomo Nara studied in Düsseldorf. Most of paintings and sculptures, such as Light My Fire, depict children in various moods. In works such as Nachtwandern, he was also seen mingling Japanese and Western cultures. He has also experimented with stuffed animals and plywood.

Russian surrealist painter Vladimir Kush now owns his own gallery in Hawaii. Initially a street artist, he now sells his own art prints and calls himself a Metaphorical Realist. He once sued pop star Ariana Grande for using his imagery in her video God Is a Woman.