Artists and Instagram: has there ever been a better pairing? It’s almost like the photo-sharing service was designed for creators to show off their wares. And not only that: Instagram also allows outsiders to get behind-the-scenes access to studios, works in progress, cultural inspirations, and the artworks artists are seeing and liking in museums and galleries.
Below, we’ve rounded up five artists whose Instagrams are particularly noteworthy, easy to get lost in, and worth your attention.
Sarah Crowner
Brooklyn-based artist Sarah Crowner has found a cult following for her large, brightly colored, stitched-together canvases. Her work nods not only to Henri Matisse’s paper cut-outs and Alexander Calder’s mobiles, but also to her mother’s quilt-making career. (Her mother is the one who taught her to sew.)
Her pieces have already impressed critic Roberta Smith, who wrote that Crowner’s Casey Kaplan show last year was “a breakthrough” for its unusual presentation.
Stepping into Crowner’s Instagram world—which is full of images of privately commissioned works, of her Red Hook studio, and the dreamy, flower-filled gardens she seeks out on her travels across the world—magnifies the experience all the more.
Nicolas Party
Swiss artist Nicolas Party’s Instagram might be the most colorful one out there.
Known for making surreal, color-saturated portraits, sculptures, and prints that examine everyday life, Party uses his social media account to document it all.
Glassy, wide-eyed figures peek out from works hung on Party’s studio walls, while his vibrant murals (showcasing playful still lifes and cartoonish forests) festoon many a hallway. For those seeking a slightly strange, mesmerizing virtual distraction, look no further than this Instagram feed.
Erin O’Keefe
Mixed-media artist Erin O’Keefe’s pictures of wooden blocks and colored Plexiglas shapes are strangely satisfying.
In the spaces between them, she creates worlds of color and ponders the nature of spatial perception, as three-dimensional objects are flattened into paintings or photographs.
Her Instagram documents these modes of expression, and O’Keefe’s electrifying color pairings.
Christina Zimpel
After growing up drawing mustaches on her parents’ Old Masters prints, Christina Zimpel began her career as an art director and illustrator for fashion magazines before eventually going out on her own as a full-time artist.
Now, she translates her sense of humor into fruity, expressive paintings of stylish women.
They’re all documented on her Instagram, alongside snaps of her artworks decorating the beautiful homes of art collectors.
Maya Hayuk
Maya Hayuk’s kaleidoscopic, geometric paintings and large-scale, outdoor murals bring together the artist’s miscellaneous inspirations, which include traditional Ukrainian Easter egg paintings, mandalas, holograms, and photos of outer space.
She likens looking at her work to a psychedelic experience, with each vibrant brushstroke evoking a strange, psychic movement.
Her Instagram is a digital version of the experience, offering snapshots of Hayuk’s works and murals around the world.