Great art can come from anywhere — and our program reflects that belief. Art of NOMA brings together artists from across the world, each carrying a distinct culture, perspective, and way of seeing.
A Truly Global Roster
What unites our artists is not geography but originality. Drawing on different traditions and experiences, they create work that feels both personal and universally resonant. A roster assembled across continents is not a marketing gesture; it changes what ends up on the wall. An artist trained in a European painting tradition reaches for different references than one shaped by contemporary Mexico City or by the density of Hong Kong, and those differences survive into the finished work as tone, palette, and subject.
For a collector, that variety is the point. Instead of a house style repeated across dozens of names, an international program offers genuinely distinct positions — figuration next to abstraction, restraint next to saturation, memory next to material experiment. It rewards looking slowly and trusting your own reaction rather than a trend.
Voices From Around the World
Alyssa Tang, a Canadian-Chinese artist, architect, and designer based in Hong Kong, studies the body as material and tension. Her oil-and-charcoal works — among them Scale and Bound — treat the figure less as portrait than as structure under load, drawing and painting held in the same frame so that the surface reads like a diagram of pressure and release. The architect's eye is visible in how she weights a composition.
Tori Pounds, originally from the United Kingdom and now based in Mexico City, reconstructs emotional memory through figuration. Works like Self Portrait Mexico and Dorothy Shoes fold nostalgia, humor, and displacement into paint, using the small domestic image — a butty, a pair of shoes — as a way into larger feeling. The move between two cultures is not the subject so much as the atmosphere.
The program widens from there. Tamar Sulakvelidze paints in a mythic, painterly register; Magi and Icarus reach for allegory and the human figure with an old-master's patience and a contemporary edge. Su Lin Casanova works an introspective, symbolic vein — titles such as The Witness and The Angel I Used To Be point to an inner narrative carried in figure and color. And Pia Dehne moves between pop iconography and painterly gesture in mixed-media works like Space Invader, layering cultural memory over expressive surface.
Set side by side, these are not variations on a theme. They are separate sensibilities that happen to share a wall — which is exactly what an international roster should deliver.
Why International Matters
A global roster means a wider range of stories, influences, and visual languages — and for collectors, a richer field in which to discover work that genuinely moves them. It also reflects where the contemporary art market has actually gone. Discovery no longer runs only through a handful of Western capitals; artists build audiences directly, across borders, and the most interesting early-career work often surfaces far from the traditional centers. A collection assembled with that in mind tends to feel less like a set of trophies and more like a record of attention — of having looked widely and chosen for yourself.
There is a practical dimension too. Following international emerging artists early means engaging with a practice before consensus forms around it, when the work is most affordable and the relationship with the artist most direct. That is not a guarantee of financial return — no honest gallery would promise one — but it is where the real pleasure and the real opportunity of collecting tend to live.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which international artists does Art of NOMA represent?
The program spans several countries and traditions. It includes Alyssa Tang (Canadian-Chinese, based in Hong Kong), Tori Pounds (British, based in Mexico City), Tamar Sulakvelidze, Su Lin Casanova, and Pia Dehne, among others. You can see the current roster on the artists page.
Is it safe to buy original art from an international artist online?
Yes, when you buy through a gallery that documents each work and stands behind it. Look for clear information on medium, dimensions, and provenance, high-resolution images, and a named point of contact. Original works are handled and shipped with the care the object requires, and a reputable gallery will walk you through the process before you commit.
Does collecting international emerging artists make sense as an investment?
Collect first for connection to the work, not for resale. That said, engaging with strong emerging artists early — before wider recognition — is historically where value has had the most room to grow. Treat any appreciation as a possible bonus rather than the reason to buy, and you will make better decisions.
How do I start collecting international contemporary art?
Begin by looking widely and noting what you keep returning to. Read the artist's practice, ask questions, and buy the piece that genuinely holds your attention rather than the one that seems safest. Starting with an emerging artist you believe in is one of the most rewarding ways in.
The most rewarding collections are the ones that look outward. Explore the full artists program, browse available works from across the world, and if a piece stops you, reach out about it — we are always glad to talk through a work before you live with it.