Rising Stars to See Right Now

A trio of visual artists on the cusp.

- Julia Halperin

MOST VISUAL ARTISTS don’t get one big break. Instead, they ascend several incremental rungs—a high-profile museum group show here, a sold-out fair booth there—as they muscle their way toward the art-world establishment. The three you find here are each at slightly different points along that trajectory, but all are poised for what promise to be milestones this autumn.

Julia Jo, Valentina Vaccarella and Igshaan Adams utilise disparate mediums and explore a range of subject matter, but the trio share the rare ability to create art that feels distinctly of the moment. Even if you’re just learning these up-andcomers’ names now, you’ll likely be seeing their work everywhere soon.

Julia Jo

Some artists approach painting like a marathon, others like a sprint. Julia Jo somehow does both. Only a few years out of art school, the energetic Seoul-born, Brooklyn-based painter committed to a whopping three solo shows in 2023. After buzzy outings at Charles Moffett in New York and James Fuentes in Los Angeles, the final presentation opened in September at Jessica Silverman Gallery in San Francisco.

Like the artist herself, Jo’s paintings appear to be in constant motion. At first glance they look like swirling all-over abstractions. But take a step back, or peer at an angle, and the outline of a figure comes into focus. In an art world that has become saturated with straightforward figurative portraits, Jo’s elusive perspective feels fresh. Her work has already been scooped up by the likes of Morgan Stanley, mega collectors Komal Shah and Gaurav Garg, and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami.