2020s Art: Top Artists, Styles And Trends

Galleries closed and reopened, NFTs came and went, and AI images arrived for everyone.

Below: the artists of the 2020s, the styles and movements, what was changing in art and design, and the pictures that were actually up in British homes.

Useful for a themed party, a quiz round, a reminiscence session or working out what someone grew up looking at.

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Shop prints and posters Look back to 2020 Look back to 2021 Look back to 2022

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Artists of the 2020s

  • Yinka Shonibare and Lubaina Himid, both long overdue and now central.
  • Beeple, whose collage sold for $69m in March 2021 and started the NFT rush.
  • Refik Anadol, making data into wall-sized moving images.
  • Jadé Fadojutimi and a generation of young painters collected fast.
  • Thomas J Price, whose Brixton statue Reaching Out (2020) got it right.

Styles and movements

  • Digital and generative art, briefly attached to NFTs and then detached again.
  • AI-generated imagery, from novelty in 2022 to unavoidable by 2024.
  • Maximalism: pattern, colour and clutter, after a decade of grey.
  • Craft revival - ceramics, textiles and print taken seriously again.
  • Immersive projected shows of Van Gogh, Monet and anyone out of copyright.

Art and design trends

  • Galleries closed for long stretches in 2020 and put collections online instead.
  • The NFT market peaked in 2021 and collapsed within two years.
  • AI image tools raise unresolved questions about training data and illustrators' work.
  • Museums reckon publicly with where their collections came from.
  • Independent makers sell direct, and the high street gallery keeps shrinking.

On the walls at home

  • Prints from small independent makers, bought online.
  • Warm colours, textured plaster finishes and a lot of second-hand furniture.
  • Digital photo frames cycling through a decade of phone pictures.
  • Posters and prints back on bedroom walls, which never really stopped.

Years covered in the 2020s

  • 2020 - Lockdown, clapping on doorsteps and a year nobody needs reminding of. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2020
  • 2021 - Another lockdown, then a summer of football and reopening. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2021
  • 2022 - The Platinum Jubilee, the death of the Queen and three Prime Ministers. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2022
  • 2023 - The coronation, Barbenheimer and 'Last Christmas' finally getting to number one. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2023
  • 2024 - A July general election, the Olympics in Paris and Gavin & Stacey signing off. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2024
  • 2025 - The Lionesses retained the Euros and the Oasis reunion filled the stadiums. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2025
  • That is every 2020s year we have written up so far: 2020 to 2025.

How to use this

  • Themed party: pick one style from the list and let it decide the colours, the lettering and the invitations.
  • Quiz round: read an artist and ask for the decade, or read a style and ask for one artist who worked in it.
  • Reminiscence: ask what picture hung over the fireplace when they were young. Nearly everybody remembers.
  • Anyone born in 2020 turns 50 in 2070, 60 in 2080 and 70 in 2090.

Shop prints and posters

Found your words? Now find the card

Shop prints and posters Look back to 2020 Look back to 2021 Look back to 2022

How to write it so it lands

  • What hung in galleries and what hung at home were two different decades. Both are on this page.
  • For a themed party, take the colour palette from the decade's design rather than its paintings.
  • Charity shops are still the best place to find genuine prints and frames from any era.

Where to shop next

Frequently asked questions

Who were the most important artists of the 2020s?

Yinka Shonibare and Lubaina Himid, both long overdue and now central. The full list above names the artists worth knowing from the decade.

What art styles were popular in the 2020s?

Digital and generative art, briefly attached to NFTs and then detached again. The styles section above covers the rest of the movements.

What art did people have in their homes in the 2020s?

Prints from small independent makers, bought online. The section above lists what was actually on British walls, which is rarely the same as what was in the galleries.

Do you sell fine art?

No. We make our own art prints, greeting cards and pin badges in the UK - original work, printed here. This page is free to read and free to copy.

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