5 Contemporary Artists to Watch in 2025: Meet The Rising Stars who are Shaping the Future of Contemporary Art

Brimming with fresh talent and groundbreaking ideas, the 2025 Contemporary art landscape is shaping up to be a dynamic and innovative space where emerging artists push boundaries, explore new media and redefine cultural narratives. For art enthusiasts and collectors alike, discovering emerging Contemporary artists at the cusp of their careers is not only an exciting journey but also an opportunity to engage with the trends shaping the future of the art world. 

A contemporary fine art gallery renowned for championing innovation and identifying world-leading talent, Maddox has long been at the forefront of connecting collectors with the rising stars of modern Contemporary art. Investing in works by these emerging artists lets you own a piece of their creative journey, with the potential for significant value growth as their influence expands. Here, we spotlight five new Contemporary artists to invest in 2025 who are poised to make a lasting impact on the art world in the year ahead.

1. British Artist Sam Smyth: Experimenting with Abstraction

Among the Contemporary artists to watch in 2025 is Sam Smyth, a young British painter whose oversized abstract works explore the interaction between colour, form and composition. The son of a paper engineer who created pop-up books for a living—a fun and whimsical craft involving mathematics, geometry and a methodical approach to creativity—Smyth approaches his own practice with a similarly meticulous precision. Celebrating the joy of creating something tangible and beautiful, his pieces engage the viewer with the opticality and physicality of colour and pigment.

Smyth’s process is a mix of discovery and refinement, with ideas often sparked by something he has stumbled upon—a striking colour interaction or a geometric form that sparks curiosity. From there, he begins honing and experimenting with those qualities until they translate into a coherent painting, with the end goal a confident and harmonious artwork that contains pockets of optical sensations—vibrations, shimmers and subtle interactions that give the work a sense of movement and energy. 

Exclusively represented by Maddox Gallery worldwide, in recent years Smyth has elevated his status with high-profile public collaborations that include a mural project with The Conran Shop and a custom vehicle wrap for Audi’s Q8 e-tron electric car. Following his Maddox debut in the group show Moving Through Colour at our gallery of Contemporary art on London’s Berkeley Street, he is gearing up for his first first solo show in spring, where he will unveil his latest artistic innovations. With bold and experimental abstract art forecast to be one of the leading 2025 art trends, watch out for the debut of Smyth’s three-dimensional works and kinetic pieces that combine painting, sculpture and movement.

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2. American Artist Jessica Brilli: Nostalgia-Infused Memories for Modern Times

The work of Jessica Brilli, artist and ex-graphic designer, is steeped in nostalgia. Predicted to be a powerful force in the art world in 2025, she draws on memories of her childhood in Long Island, New York, to create her retro-inspired works. Brilli’s paintings are wrapped in the familiarity of days gone by. A comfort blanket for our complex times, her soothing colour palette evokes the beauty of faded photographs, triggering long-forgotten memories in the viewer. 

Deeply influenced by Edward Hopper, Brilli’s style is evocative of early 20th century American Realism. Her historically rich portrayals of American life in the 1950s, 60s and 70s offer a vivid reflection of the American Dream and its complexities, which are revealed only as we mature. Infused with a haunting sense of loneliness, the introspective nature of her practice gives each work a cinematic quality that is both tasteful and timeless. 

Like many artists, Brilli had a successful career before she transitioned to painting full-time. A graphic designer at Harvard University for close to 20 years, she uses her innate understanding of colour, shape and form to create her compelling compositions. Awarded an acclaimed Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant in 2021, she showed her paintings for the first time in the US in 2023. In September 2024, she made her solo UK debut with the exhibition Dreamstate at our Berkeley Street gallery. Featuring a glossy and melancholic series of 24 Jessica Brilli paintings, it was a near sellout and a huge success for this talented artist. Currently creating two new works for the Maddox group show Connecting Outcomes (16th January-1st March 2025), watch out for a series of exclusive collaborations between Maddox and Brilli in the year ahead.

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3. Moroccan Artist Touils: Exploring the Essence of a Culture

Touils in front of newly produced works for his Arabic Collection

With the runaway success of his first solo show at Maddox Berkeley Street, followed by a move from France to Dubai, Touils, artist and cultural explorer, had an action-packed 2024.Bringing the same momentum to the year ahead, Touils will be debuting his latest body of work at Maddox Berkeley Street in February. 

Venturing inside different cultures to capture their essence, Touil’s narrative-driven works take the viewer on a journey. His densely layered paint strokes infuse each piece with a sense of vibrancy and light. Through his signature vertical lines that backdrop each painting, he creates a tapestry of textures, bringing warmth, luminosity and volume to his canvases.

Lacking the finances to travel in his youth, Touils initially painted scenes of places he visited in his dreams. Following the success of his breakthrough show last year, he made the decision to relocate to Dubai. Immersed in a new way of living, the move has opened Touils’ eyes to a vibrant new world of inspiration, leading to the creation of a new body of work titled The Arabic Collection—a tribute to the customs, ceremonies and traditions of Arabic culture, viewed through a contemporary lens. 

Touils is very active on Instagram and often posts behind-the-scenes videos of his works in progress. His openness to sharing his creative process has enabled him to build a dedicated fan base of supporters and investors. Based on the enthusiastic response to his solo show True Colours in 2024 and the excitement building around his new collection, artists like Touils are ensuring that the future of Contemporary art has never looked brighter.

Learn More about Touils's latest collection

4. Nigerian Artist Deborah Segun: Redefining Art Through a Feminine Gaze

Based in Lagos in Nigeria, the African Contemporary artist Deborah Segun plays with exaggerated shapes to create her fragmented portraits. Her depictions of the female figure are strikingly original—a vivid blend of Cubism and modern Abstraction. Tranquil yet self-assured, through her interlocking planes of harmonious colour, she reminds us of the beautiful complexities of being a woman.

Segun’s voluptuous figures dominate the canvas. Framing each swath of pigment with sharp lines, she guides the viewer through a piece, with her work frequently featuring overlapping patterns, layered colours and tactile surfaces. Not immediately obvious when viewing her work online, the textural nature of her work is warm and comforting while inviting viewers to look beyond the surface and engage with the diverse narratives of the feminine experience.

The artist first exhibited her work in Nigeria in 2018 and has since had solo shows in London, Ghana and Athens. Most recently, three pieces of Deborah Segun art were featured in Maddox’s winter 2024 group exhibition Moving Through Colour, at the same time as her highest-profile solo show yet with BEERS London at the Saatchi Gallery. Her ongoing participation in prominent group exhibitions in 2025 and ability to resonate with a global audience make her an artist to watch closely in the coming year.

Discover Deborah Segun Art

5. Italian Artist Alessandro Florio: Mastering Emotion in Contemporary Art

One of the newest arrivals at Maddox Gallery, Alessandro Florio is a tattoo-artist-turned-painter who is deeply influenced by his Sicilian heritage. Hailing from Taormina on Sicily’s east coast, Florio's work reflects the island's rich history and natural beauty. Seamlessly blending elements from Byzantine mosaics and frescoes, his reductionist approach to painting incorporates streamlined subjects and softened forms that pay homage to his roots while offering a contemporary perspective on figurative art.

Alessandro held his first solo exhibition in 2023 at the historic Palace of the ex-Magistrates’ Court in Taormina. Later that year, he exhibited nine works with the Gitano Faena Group during Art Basel in Miami. In December 2024, Alessandro participated in Art Miami during Art Basel, presenting three paintings, all of which sold within two days.

Florio’s artistic practice is not only about aesthetic appeal but also about cultural preservation. Working from his atelier in Taormina, situated within an ancient building, he draws inspiration from the history that surrounds him while seeking to capture the soul of Sicily, past and present. Combining elements of classical beauty with expressive brushwork, his talent for fusing the old and the new makes each piece of Alessandro Florio art feel both familiar and fresh, appealing to a wide range of tastes.

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Emerging Contemporary Art 2025 Trends

Shaped by a dynamic blend of innovation, nostalgia and cultural exploration, each of our Contemporary artists to watch in 2025 is leading the way in the emerging Contemporary art trends that will be making themselves felt in the year ahead. Smyth’s experimental approach to abstract art aligns with the growing trend of kinetic and interactive art, where the viewer’s experience is constantly evolving, while Brilli’s nostalgic realism taps into the increasing desire for art that evokes memory and emotion, offering a comforting yet introspective look at the past. 

Touils’ exploration of cultural narratives speaks to the rising interest in globalism and cultural fusion, as artists draw from their diverse backgrounds to create works that resonate across borders. Segun’s bold, fragmented portraits of women are part of a larger trend in Contemporary art that celebrates feminine power and identity, often through abstraction and symbolic representation. Lastly, Florio’s fusion of historical influences with modern techniques reflects a growing trend for art that bridges the past and present, using cultural heritage as a foundation for contemporary expression. Together, these Contemporary artists of today not only reflect but are actively shaping trends, pushing boundaries and inviting viewers to engage with the world in new and profound ways.

Conclusion

Keeping up to date with the forefront of Contemporary art can lead to great cultural and financial enrichment. At Maddox Gallery, one of our core missions is to direct clients to the rising stars of the art world who show the greatest talent and investment potential. 

Using a unique blend of human expertise and cutting-edge technology, we evaluate emerging artists based on both their creative potential and also the projected future value of their work. By introducing collectors to some of the most exciting Contemporary artists of today, we offer the opportunity to be a part of their journey while acquiring artworks that may prove to be valuable assets in the years to come.

Discover the rising stars of Contemporary art at Maddox Gallery. Contact a Maddox Gallery art advisor to learn more about their work.

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