Every year, a new generation of artists begins to shape the future of contemporary art.
Some emerge through museums and major exhibitions. Others build audiences through independent galleries, digital platforms, and word of mouth. What connects them is a distinctive visual language and the ability to capture something relevant about the world we live in now.
From abstraction and figurative painting to mixed media and conceptual work, these are ten emerging contemporary artists worth watching in 2026.
1. Paula Turmina
A Brazilian multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in London. Her distinct artistic style blends climate fiction, soil ecologies, and cosmic perspectives, often utilizing vibrant earth tones—specifically variations of red—to depict surreal, post-apocalyptic landscapes
2. Karlos Ibarra
A contemporary Mexican painter known for incorporating a distinct quality of light using mostly cool color tones and highly expressive, thick brushstrokes. Many of his figures lack defined facial features. He utilizes human nudity not for erotism, but as a vehicle for emotional truth, desire, and vulnerability. Watch Karlos Ibarra's studio interview on the Art of NOMA YouTube channel. Read more in Karlos Ibarra: Painting the Space Between People.
3. Alyssa Tang
A Canadian-Chinese multidisciplinary artist, architect, and designer currently based in Hong Kong. Her work focuses intensely on the human figure, exploring the rich, organic materiality of skin, muscle, and flesh. Works predominantly with oil paint and charcoal on canvas and linen surfaces. Watch Alyssa Tang's studio interview on the Art of NOMA YouTube channel. Read more in Alyssa Tang: The Body Under Pressure in Oil and Charcoal.
4. William Gaber
A contemporary Mexican multidisciplinary artist born in Yucatán. His work explores the human condition, constant transformation, and architecture as a container of human experience and memory.
5. JoCa
Mexican-Spanish artist JoCa's work is based on an artistic and aesthetic concept that describes works left unfinished (non finito) or intervened through pictorial discharges as an intentional way of creating portraits, in which a deconstructed image gives them a vision of time. Watch a gallery tour of JoCa's Non Finito work on the Art of NOMA YouTube channel. For a closer look at the practice, see Inside the Studio of JoCa, and on the non finito idea itself, JoCa: Non Finito Portraits and the Fractured Self.
6. Tori Pounds
Originally from the United Kingdom, Tori Pounds creates paintings that exist somewhere between memory, observation, and imagination. Her work often explores intimacy, relationships, and personal identity through emotionally charged figurative compositions. Go deeper in Inside the Nostalgic World of Tori Pounds, or read how she paints memory and intimacy.
7. Daniel Mullen
The Amsterdam-based artist has developed a distinctive abstract language built around geometry, movement, and perception. His work challenges viewers to actively engage with space, color, and visual experience.
8. Horacio Quiroz
An acclaimed contemporary, self-taught Mexican painter and visual artist whose work focuses on the metamorphosis of the human body, queer theory, and the concept of polarity. Quiroz balances opposing forces, juxtaposing the visceral, distorted, or mutated elements of flesh with rich, fluid aesthetics.
9. Nieves González
A rapidly rising Spanish visual artist and contemporary painter celebrated for her distinct oil portraits that blend 17th-century Spanish Baroque aesthetics with modern street fashion. She uses dramatic chiaroscuro light and theatrical realism.
10. Jordi Alós
A prominent contemporary Mexican plastic and visual artist working from his studio in Mexico City. He is widely recognized for a unique style that balances raw expression with classical underpinnings, heavily influenced by underground street culture, art brut, and realism.
Why Emerging Artists Matter
The most influential artists of the next decade are often working outside the spotlight today.
For collectors, emerging artists offer more than the possibility of future recognition. They provide access to new ideas, fresh perspectives, and a closer connection to the cultural conversations shaping contemporary art right now.
Building a collection around emerging artists requires curiosity and conviction. It means looking beyond established names and paying attention to artists who are still defining their place within the broader art world.
At Art of NOMA, we believe some of the most exciting contemporary artists are creating their most important work today. The challenge isn't finding them.
It's recognizing them before everyone else does.
Explore original paintings by these and other emerging artists at Art of NOMA.