As we enter the final months of this strange, strange year, ambitious art-lovers might be wondering about those artists they lost track of since the pandemic began. But as a silver lining, many young, ambitious artists have used the solitude of the past months to create thought-provoking new works.  

Here are five of those artists that we’re looking at this fall.

Gareth Edwards at Jill George Gallery

Gareth Edwards, Deep River (2020). Courtesy of Jill George Gallery.

Edwards’s new landscape paintings were made entirely during the lockdown in his studio in St Ives, Cornwall. Inspired by poetry (particularly that of Ted Hughes), the paintings are meant to invite his viewers into contemplative and fictive spaces that the artist hopes will evoke half-remembered places and terrains.

Vaughn Spann at Almine Rech

Vaughn Spann, The Exchange—North Star (2020). Courtesy of Almine Rech.

Young art star Vaughn Spann recently closed his show, “Smoke Signals,” at Almine Rech’s Brussels location. Those evocative new works draw on the signs and signifiers he’s been pursuing for the past few years, including his signatures “X” motif. Made mainly during quarantine, the works have a captivating potency of color and rhythm.

Yongchul Kim at Galerie Thomas Fuchs

Yongchul Kim, The Wanderer (2020). Courtesy of Galerie Thomas Fuchs.

Since moving to Germany, South Korean-born artist Yongchul Kim has been exploring what it means to be a stranger. His figurative works have an aura of mystery. In this newest works, his figures often appear submerged in water, a technique that distorts and abstracts their bodies, echoing a sense of existential uncertainty and the eternal search for reality.

Lena von Goedeke at Galerie M

Lena von Goedeke, A Fleeting Mind III (2020). Courtesy of Galerie M.

Inspired by arctic terrains, Lena von Goedeke works across a variety of media (drawing, sculpture, photography) to make works that echo both the landscape and the experiences of people who venture into bitter climates. The works include meticulously rendered glaciers that glitter and reflect intricate patterns, photographs blasted with sand, and sculptures of equipment and protective gear worn by explorers. Together, the works create a remarkable feeling of a faraway reality.

Christopher Hartmann at House2Six

Christopher Hartmann, Untitled (2020). Courtesy of House2Six.

German-born artist Christopher Hartmann creates large-scale, slightly stylized figurative paintings that frame his subjects at unexpected angles. The works don’t try to grandstand, yet are filled with a kind of emotional monumentality that’s hard to ignore.