We are pleased to launch our Top 100 NextGen Artists Report 2021. This report provides new insight into a generation of artists that is catching the attention of galleries and collectors, breaking records at auction and creating waves among museum curators.

How strongly aligned is the auction market with an artist’s cultural value? Can artists commercially succeed in the art market without the support of a solid cultural infrastructure?

Given the surge in auction sales by young contemporary artists, the auction market has become an important tastemaker and influencer in its own right, and we wanted to better understand these artists’ career journeys, and what factors might have influenced their commercial success. The sample of artists chosen for this report was based on the 100 artists (45 years or younger) who had the highest total auction sales in 2020.