Top 10 most famous digital artists

Find out which artists have taken up the helm of the digital art sphere ever since its creation in 1959. Digital art was founded by Manfred Frank and Ben Laposky, programmers and mathematicians that created a binary code capable of generating a well-defined and elaborate image that could be modified by varying the wavelength of light rays from a cathode-ray tube. Artalistic has carefully curated a list of what we believe to be are the top 10 most famous digital artists - from classical contemporary art to crypto-art and NFTs. (Illustration: Trevor Jones, The Bitcoin Angel.)

Digital Art: Need-to-know contemporary digital artists

Digital art is a vast field in the fine art world that encompasses various types of artistic media and technologies: computer science, multimedia, 3D modeling, virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, NFT and blockchain and much more.

This sector of the art world offers a vast range of artistic possibilities. Artalistic has combed through some of the most famous artists working in this field to bring you our selection of the top digital artists.

Classics: from Ai Weiwei to David Hockney

Ai Weiwei: Symbolizing interconnection

A truly creative activist, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has been using digital technologies to promote his extensive body of work for a long time. The interconnectedness of social madia has brought his work into a whole new dimension. He deftly uses social media to promote his stance against all forms of injustice and totalitarianism. His engagement and presence on social media can be seen as an extension of his art. In recent years, Ai Weiwei has shifted his relationship with digital art, evolving it in parallel with new technologies that he uses, for example, in his installations.

Damien Hirst dabbles in crypto art

An artist renowned for his provocative and sometimes vulgar style, British artist Damien Hirst dominated contemporary art in the UK during the 1990s, notably through his work with the YBA (Young British Artists), a group of creators renowned for their cynicism and disregard for the classic rules of aesthetics. Since the mid-1980s, Damien Hirst has produced over a thousand Spot Paintings - paintings with circles of colors with no single color ever repeated - the majority of which were designed by his assistants without any help from the artist. In 2021, he started experimenting with digital art. For The Currency Project Hirst created 10,000 NFT digital copies of his spot paintings and then proceeded to burn the original physical versions. His aim was to use digital art to bring the definition of artistic value into question.

Jeff Koons and augmented reality art

The artist Jeff Koons is also a fan of new technologies and digital art. He often hires engineers and 3D modelers to help with his projects. The American artist and sculptor designs his work on the computer before sending them off to be created. Since 2017, he has been creating pieces that use augmented reality and installing them in public places. He has also made NFT versions of the 3D models of his work that were made exclusively for the metaverse.

Marina Abramovic and virtual reality

Famous for her performances, Marina Abramovic is also renowned for her photos, videos and installations. This multi-faceted artist has a constantly evolving connection with her passionate fan base. In 2019, this Serbian contemporary artist had a virtual reality performance where viewers wore VR headsets, allowing them to enter an intimate virtual space, where they come face-to-face with the artist who is giving the performance from an empty room in a completely separate location. This performance allowed visitors to attend from anywhere in the world and embraced new technology in an endeavor to transmit the presence of the artist virtually.  

David Hockney and digital impressionism

David Hockney’s recent exhibition at the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris was a resounding success. It featured a large painted frieze capturing the year the artist spent in Normandy. What made it special? The piece was created using an iPad! Like the Impressionist painters, David Hockney captured the effects of light, texture and color as the seasons changed. Blending traditional painting and technology resulted in an innovative creative process that is truly breathtaking. Could this be a new era of digital art?

Digital artists using crypto and NFTs

Beeple

At the top of the NFT art market, Beeple is also the most famous digital artist in the cryptoart world. Mike Winklemann sold one of his pieces, Everyday: the First Five Thousand Days for $69 million. A sale like that can certainly make you think twice about investing in digital art.

Trevor Jones

Trevor Jones may not yet have achieved Beeple's status, but he is a major player in the world of NFT digital art. His piece The Bitcoin Angel was sold at auction for $3.2 million. The Scottish painter is famous for creating his artistic pieces in real life before digitizing them.

XCOPY: A digital artist enjoying meteoric success

London-based digital artist XCOPY’s work sells for far less money than his counterparts Beeple and Trevor Jones. However, he has created approximately 2,000 NFTs that each sold for around $5,000, making him one of the most famous NFT digital artists on the market. His fan base on social networks, notably Twitter, have enabled him to increase in popularity very quickly. His record sale was for the NFT Death Dip, which sold for 1.8 million dollars.

Fewocious

Fewocious is a very young American artist in his early twenties who has already sold over 3,000 NFTs for an estimated $22 million. His success shows no signs of waning, his digital artwork The Everlasting Beautiful sold for $550,000.

José Delbo

The Argentinian digital artist José Delbo is the king of comics presented in NFT form. In just a few years, he has become one of the most famous digital artists. His work is currently valued at over $8 million.