Fresh paint: seven artists on the rise Karim Crippa

From immersive environments to newly minted portraiture, these painters are updating the medium for the 21st Century Log in and subscribe to receive Art Basel Stories directly in your inbox. Throughout the millennia, artists have continuously sought to challenge the nature of painting. Innovation hasn't stopped: Here are seven artists relentlessly testing the limits, opportunities, and traditions of the medium – all of whom will be shown at Art Basel Miami Beach. Didier William (b. 1983, Port-au-Prince, Haïti) James Fuentes, New York City, Nova sector Didier William creates evocative pictures half-way between figuration and abstraction. Working with an array of media including paper, charcoal, and stucco, the Haitian American painter explores how memories travel through generations and geographies. They crop up in his work through graphic elements interwoven with color fields and chimerical figures, which conjure up speculative mindscapes. In Miami Beach, William will present Vertieres (2019), an epic work inspired by the namesake battle that led to the independence of Haiti from France in 1803.

Didier William, Ou ap tonbe, men m ap kenbe ou, 2018. Ink, wood carving, and collage on panel, 162.56 × 228.60 × 5.08 cm. Courtesy of the artist and James Fuentes, New York City.

Astrid Svangren (b. 1972, Gothenburg, Sweden) Christian Andersen, Copenhagen, Positions sector Svangren’s compositions turn painting into a multidimensional experience. The Swedish artist takes the different elements constituting the medium (paint, surface, canvas, stretcher bars) and rearranges them in space. The poetic environments resulting from that process are reminiscent of both conceptual art and stripped-down domestic spaces. In Miami Beach, the artist will present one of these immersive works, inspired by the teachings and rules of Shaker culture.

Installation view of Astrid Svangren's exhibition ‘From Searching: Mirroring/ Metamorphosis/ The Last Rinsing Water/ A Yellow Room/ Perpetual Movement/ A Kind of Thorough Rinse/ Artificial Colour’ at Kohta, Helsinki, 2018. Photo by Jussi Tiainen.

Amoako Boafo (b. Accra, Ghana) Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, Chicago, Nova sector Amoako Boafo is best-known as a portraitist. With an energetic brushstroke, the Ghanaian-born, Vienna-based artist depicts friends and acquaintances, often placed on a monochrome background. Boafo’s practice pertains to a long tradition – the oeuvres of Amy Sherald, Barkley L. Hendricks, Alice Neel, and Egon Schiele come to mind. But this lineage does not dilute the punch of his paintings – quite the opposite, his distinctive style is enriched by these influences. Boafo will show new work in Miami Beach, conceived especially for the fair. Magician Space, Beijing, Positions sector

A joyful iconoclasm transpires from the paintings of Chinese artist Wu Chen. Wu paints easily recognizable motives and figures, which he then distorts and places in unexpected environments. In doing so, the artist aims to address the excessive importance we attribute to symbols and images. His Miami Beach project will build on a fictional dialogue between himself and Henri Matisse, pondering on the value of artistic identity and production. Maia Cruz Palileo (b. 1979, Chicago, US) and Ebony G. Patterson (b.1981, Kingston, Jamaica) Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago, Nova sector The works of Maia Cruz Palileo and Ebony G. Patterson share an alluring sense of baroque. Palileo’s oeuvre is articulated around her Filipino heritage. She paints lush scenes based on images found in archives, combining her personal history with external – and sometimes fictional – elements. Patterson is known for her impressive dexterity with ornamentation. Her maximalist use of decorative elements is never gratuitous, however: Instead, they contribute to her ongoing exploration of Afro-Caribbean visual identities and symbols, and of the region’s turbulent history. The two artists will be presented together at Art Basel Miami Beach by Monique Meloche Gallery.

Installation view of Ebony G. Patterson's exhibition ...‘for those who bear/bare witness...’ at Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago, 2018. Courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago. Photo by RCH Photography.

Maia Cruz Palileo, Magic Fire, 2019. Oil on canvas, 132.1 x 127 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago.

Maia Cruz Palileo, Two Women, 2018. Oil on canvas, 20.3 x 25.4cm. Courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago.

Installation view of Maia Cruz Palileo's exhibition ‘All The While I Thought You Had Received This’ at Monique Meloche Gallery, 2019. Courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago. Photo by RCH Photography.

Ebony G. Patterson, ...we lost...for those who bear/bare witness, 2018. Digital print on hand-cut, archival watercolor paper with hand-cut paper elements, poster board, acrylic gel medium, hot glue, plastic letters, feathered butterflies, and two paper crowns, 238.8 x 266.7 x 12.7cm. Courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago.